"chernobyl" 1:23:45(2019) | 2026 Edition |

: Inhabitants of Pripyat gather on a railway bridge to watch the "beautiful" blue beam of light emanating from the reactor, as radioactive "snow" falls on them, oblivious to the danger.

The episode begins with a haunting prologue set two years after the disaster: "Chernobyl" 1:23:45(2019)

The premiere episode of the HBO/Sky miniseries "Chernobyl," titled "1:23:45," originally aired on May 6, 2019. The title refers to the exact moment on April 26, 1986 , when Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded in the Ukrainian SSR, marking the beginning of the world's worst man-made nuclear catastrophe . Plot Overview : Inhabitants of Pripyat gather on a railway

: The episode follows Vasily Ignatenko and his fellow firefighters as they arrive at the plant, completely unaware of the lethal radiation. They handle chunks of glowing graphite —the "guts" of the reactor—with their bare hands. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded

: Critics from IGN and Film Inquiry praised the episode for its immersive, "eerie and daunting" atmosphere, which plays like a horror movie by focusing on the invisible, "spectral" threat of radiation. Scientific and Historical Context

: The explosion was triggered during a low-power safety test. A surge caused by a design flaw in the RBMK reactor’s control rods (graphite tips) led to a massive steam explosion that blew the 1,000-ton lid off the reactor.

: Soviet chemist Valery Legasov (played by Jared Harris) records memoirs exposing the truth behind the disaster before taking his own life at exactly 1:23:45 AM, coinciding with the disaster's anniversary.