On my first watch, I watched it with The Bat's hubby Mr The Bat.
There's a scene where Legasov is explaining that even with lead shielding, getting the high-range dosimeter close enough to get a real reading might not be enough to save the life of the guy driving the truck.
Hearing this, General Pikalov says that he will do it himself.
Mr The Bat, derisively, said something like "showing off like that will just get you killed."
Dude! The general isn't showing off, he's being honorable!
He's making the decision to not order anyone to do something he won't do himself.
Yes, it has a wonderful side effect of his men being willing to follow him into Hell once he's shown such a willingness to sacrifice himself for them; but it also could have resulted in him dying for them.
I read that at Fukushima, old people volunteered to go in where the radiation danger was worst. They felt that they'd already had good lives, and at their ages, there wasn't any chance of damage to hypothetical children. The survivors were/are greatly honored in Japan.
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