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After five weeks of murder and radiation, Chernobyl finally ended on a heart-pounding trial. Chernobyl‘s Episode 5 finale, “Vichnaya Pamyat,” chronicled the court cases of Anatoly Dyatlov, Viktor Bryukhanov, and Nikolai Fomin, three higher ups who were responsible for nuclear reactor No. 4 the night it exploded.
Prior to this point, Chernobyl has grimly stared down the horrific realities of the disaster, chronicling the men and women who risked everything to prevent further ruin. Episode 5 marks a change of pace. Instead of weeks of horror and sorrow, Craig Mazin’s HBO miniseries ends on a note of anger. In no uncertain terms, the series points its finger directly at who was to blame for this terrifying loss of life — a corrupt government that chose to lie to itself and its people, rather than confront the uncomfortable truth of its sins.
It’s a harrowing episode. But as is the case with all things Chernobyl, it’s another exercise in a historical drama that almost seems too shocking to be true. We know you have questions about Chernobyl Episode 5, and we have answers. From the somber definition of “Vichnaya Pamyat” to Chernobyl‘s surprising Game of Thrones connection, here’s everything you need to know about the ending of this miniseries.
Who was the real Valery Khodemchuk?
During his testimony, Jared Harris’ Valery Legasov emphasizes the story of Valery Khodemchuk, a night shift operator who worked in the pump room at the time of reactor No. 4’s explosion. Played by Kieran O’Brien, Valery Khodemchuk was never trained to conduct a safety test. Instead, he was thrown into this massively complicated operation by his superior Anatoly Dyatlov (Paul Ritter). The governmental pressure ultimately cost him his life.
There was a real Valery Khodemchuk, and his story is very similar to the one Chernobyl tells. Khodemchuk was one of the 31 official deaths the Soviet Union reported after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. It was believed that he was killed immediately in the collapsed part of the building. However, his body has never been recovered.
Is there really a Bridge of Death in Chernobyl?
In Chernobyl’s final moments, the miniseries reveals what happened in the aftermath of this disaster, but one of its post-mortem cards raises more questions than answers. The series states that none of the people who watched the Chernobyl explosion from a nearby bridge survived and that highway is now known as The Bridge of Death. That’s not a Monty Python bit. This bridge actually exists, and was seen in Chernobyl’s first episode. It’s located in Pripyat and is still presumably radioactive.
Was 'Game of Thrones' Roose Bolton in 'Chernobyl'?
Now this would be a crossover for the ages. Roose Bolton the character wasn’t in Chernobyl’s final episode, but his actor was. Michael McElhatton appears in “Vichnaya Pamyat” as Andrei Stepashin, the prosecutor for the trial at the center of the episode.
Episode 5 revolves around the case of Anatoly Dyatlov (Paul Ritter), Viktor Bryukhanov (Con O’Neill), and Nikolai Fomin (Adrian Rawlins). When reactor No. 4 exploded, Dyatlov was the deputy chief engineer who supervised the test and insisted the test continue despite the reactor slipping to dangerously low levels. Bryukhanov was the plant manager who arrived roughly an hour after the explosion, and Romin was the chief engineer who took over operations around 4:30 a.m. All three were sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for their involvement in the disaster.
What does "Vichnaya Pamyat" mean?
Episode 5 is the only episode in this miniseries to feature a title in Russian. “Vichnaya Pamyat” loosely means “Eternal Memory.” This is a phrase that’s often used in Russian funerals. It’s just one final way Chernobyl is paying its respect to the brave men and women who risked their lives to save their fellow man from this tragedy.
What happened to the real Valery Legasov? And what happened to Legasov's tapes?
Chernobyl’s first episode wasn’t a writerly alteration of history. The real Valery Legasov did kill himself two years to the day after the nuclear disaster. Due to his radiation poisoning, Legasov (played by Jared Harris) knew that he only had a few years to live. In a shocking and humbling act of self-sacrifice, Legasov recorded everything he knew about the truth behind Chernobyl’s explosion and hung himself, knowing that his sudden death would force people to look into why he did it. It’s unclear exactly how Legasov’s tapes were distributed among the Soviet Union’s scientific community. However, his tapes were one of the few sources that taught the general public the truth behind the explosion.
