I didn't realise how bad things could have been until they discussed the water tanks in ep 2.

All of Ukraine uninhabitable for decades and most of Eastern Europe a place nobody would want to live?

I had no idea until they went over what the tanks would do. I knew years ago they wanted them drained and how they did so. But I imagined it would be a dangerous leak of radioactive steam, not a blast that would spread radiation so far.

Even if I knew about it, the series would still leave me with that feeling of dread, but that was a real shock to the system.