now i don't need you | Chernobyl (2019)

Valery Legasov briefly explains how a nuclear reactor works to Boris Shcherbina. The bullet refers to the fast neutrons release from the fission process of Uranium 235 where free radicals either hits DNA molecule directly or indirectly, resulting in damage. The fission cross section for Uranium 235 is high and the chance of fission is much higher when neutrons energy is low. A moderator is required to slow down (moderate) neutrons from the previous fission process. The graphite refers to the fragments from the explosion of the RBMK reactor which uses carbon as a neutron moderator.

This clip was taken from 2019 HBO miniseries, Chernobyl. I do not own any of the footage and all credit goes to HBO and their talented team.

[SRFriso]

"Now I don't need you."
_Four episodes later_
"Let him finish!"
That's what I call a character arc.

[StickyBuns]

Shcherbina ended up being my most favorite character, and I never would have guessed after seeing him in the first episode at the meeting.

[dorrin]

1:00

Legasov: A neutron is, uh-
Boris: The bullet.
Legasov: ...Yes, the bullet.

The moment Legasov realizes that Boris might be arrogant and stubborn, but he's no fool.

[horrorfan]

I like how Legasov's entire tone changed after Shcherbina recalled that he referred to the neutrons as "bullets" during his presentation. It seems so much more upbeat and energetic.
It's like "Oh my god... He does care enough to listen an retain the knowledge. Alright I can work with this."

[hagamapama]

Boris is working on several levels here. He knows he's going to be fed a load of steaming BS by the toadies on the ground once he lands. He needs enough information to be able to defeat that BS. He's also testing Legasov's convictions, whether he's an alarmist making a play for power or whether he's sincere. If he will give up his expertise easily, he's sincere. If he then has a little joke at Legasov's expense, that's all in good fun, and it's important to keep the experts a bit off balance if you don't want them taking over and making political mistakes, especially someone like Legasov who's already come across as knowledgeable, passionate, and a bit naive, and will need watching to keep him out of trouble with the Kremlin.


Boris is a veteran politician, He already believes Legasov. But he also knows how Soviet politics works and knows his first job has to be prepared to know a little more than Brychanov and Fomin think he does, so he can quickly defeat them and move them aside, get real informatiuon for Gorbachev and assume power at Chernobyl so that Legasov can fix things


That's why he immediately jumps in when Brychanov and Fomin try to stonewall Legasov, and then jumps right down their throats with his new knowledge. because he had used Legasov's briefing to be prepared for that moment. This scene demonstrates Boris's extreme intelligence and forward thinking.

[hartmannf]

Chemistry class:
Teacher: what is neutron kids?
Other: neutron is a subatomic particle
Me, an intelectual: a bullet

[Diomedes]

This scene exemplifies why this miniseries was so good. The dynamic between Shcherbina and Legasov is adversarial at the beginning, but morphs into mutual respect and then friendship towards the end. But at this stage in their relationship, you can see the sarcasm between the two of them.

[damiansz]

I was pretty sure he is gonna throw himm off the helicopter at the end of this scene.

[ful]

"Out of all the obedient fools they accidentally chose to send the one good man!" - Legasov perfectly summing up Boris. ❤️❤️

[jonathanwilliams]

Boris has the greatest character arc in this entire story. You go from hating him, to a deep appreciation for him and the ultimate sacrifice he paid.

[ylette]

I love this Boris character, especially his voice.

[vsevolodpoddyh]

like how Boris used this new knowledge when arrived to Chernobyl.

[ky]

Student : tell me what 1+1 is

Teacher : 2

Student : now i dont need you

[WojennikTV]

Great scene and great acting. Shcherbina had such a fantastic character arc in this series. Truly majestic!

[seanmiller]

Two legendary actors at the top of their game. 5 star series

[gerainthorton]

Great scene. Skeptical of Legasov at the start. Gets on the ground and hears the guys down playing the situation, uses Legasov's information asking about the graphite on the roof.

[IndianTelephone]

From here to "Of all the ministers and the deputies, the entire congregation of fools, they mistakenly sent one good man."
What a journey for both characters.

[qwertyuiopqwerty]

It went from
"Now I don't need you", to "I hoped that one day I mattered, but I didn't, I just stood next to someone who did."

[EATSLEEPDRIVE]

“ Tell me how A nuclear reactor works, or I’ll have one of the soldiers throw you out of the helicopter”
(Legasov explains)
“Now I don’t need you.”
(Throws him out of the helicopter)

[ricardomortel]

I thought he was going to throw him off the chopper back then lmao