Dead deer -Physicist Khomyuk is presented to us
-Legasov explains the real situation to Gorbatchev and decides to act by pouring sand and Boron over the steaming core using helicopters.
-Great sequence where people are rushed outside the town, giving the viewer a high sense of urgency.
-The scene is introduced with a transition that begins with a close-up of a dead deer, setting the stage for what's to come, that is a helicopter entering the smoke column, as we neither hear or see from them up until they appear back from the other side just to plummet to the ground in complete silence.
-Boris announces Legasov that the news broke out counties all around the world are taking precautions, while they live in denial, allowing their people to live outside freely, as if nothing ever happened, unbeknownst to what is floating above their heads.
-Khomyuk enters the power plant to tell Legasov he mistakenly judged the situation, as the fuel is still inside the tanks, and that water will eventually meet the high temperature, eventually turning into steam and spread even faster. Sand and Boron would only act as a blanket, helping the temperatures increase rather than cool down so people would need to go down and close the water valves. The problem is they won't survive, it would be a necessary sacrifice.
-3 men (Anarenko, Bezpalov, Baranov) volunteer after a bleak speech from Shcherbina and the episode ends with a fade-to-black transition of the them getting anxious and anxious while the radioactive beeping increases.