I’m gonna tell you right now, there will be MAJOR spoilers after this first paragraph. If you clicked into this because you thought it might be interesting but don’t know what Silo is, you fell into my trap. But lucky you! Now you know to get access to AppleTV and watch. I’m not giving any more info, just a promise that you won’t regret it. Don’t read further if you don’t want things spoiled!
If you just finished the second season of Silo, you’ve come to the right place. Wow… just WOW! Juliette Lives!!!! The plot/character development has played out perfectly through the first two seasons – I couldn’t be more attached to Juliette and the gang if I tried. After Juliette left the silo in Season 1, I didn’t know how long she’d be able to stay on her own on Season 2 without the show starting to drag… well, the writers are clearly smart because they wasted no time in introducing an off-putting character and potential problem in Solo when Juliette encounters him in the abandoned neighboring silo.
Solo was like a skiddish rescue puppy with behavioral issues stemming from past trauma at first. But slowly, under the care and guidance of his good-hearted new owner, he warmed up and transformed into the smart, loyal, good dog he always was. Rebecca Ferguson should win all the awards for her performance this season. I thought S1 was a masterclass, but she took it to a new level outside the constraints of Silo 18 in this one. My favorite sub-plot of this season was Juliette figuring out Solo and eventually befriending and caring for Jimmy. On the topic of awards, give Steve Zahn (Solo/Jimmy) and Tim Robbins (Bernard) a healthy share of their own recognition as well.
This moment between Juliette and Jimmy was the perfect end to their arc this season:
I also want to specifically highlight Bernard and Lukas’ characters. I think we all had the feeling that the genius dude from the cafeteria who made an awkward move on Juliette (who could totally kick his ass) would play a huge role this season; but hand up, I didn’t expect it to be THIS huge. Lukas uncovered secrets of the silo that Sims had probably never even imagined existing during his time as Bernard’s shadow. The fun part of Lukas is knowing he was never on Bernard’s side, but just trying to save his own ass from the mines and doing what he needed to do to stay alive up top. Witnessing Lukas evolve from a timid braniac who was scared of his own shadow into a confident leader who recognized his value/power and took back “control” in his life was fun to watch. Top 5 moment of the season was watching him tell Bernard (presumably) about the Safeguard and Bernard falling into a state of shock – he was beyond rattled at the end and Lukas had finally taken power away from Bernard (like Judge Meadows might have done similarly before).
Bernard being revealed as the bad guy in season 1 was a fun mid-plot twist and allowed Tim Robbins to take Bernard’s character to the next level. His ruthless commitment to acting “in the best interest of the silo” keeps a sliver of hope alive in the audience that maybe he is trying to do good at his core; but ultimately, we ended S1 and started S2 hating that dude’s guts. Watching him think he was always a step ahead of Mechanical but knowing deep down they had a trick up their sleeves brought me such pleasure. Walk’s countdown before they trapped the Raiders down deep had me feeling positively giddy. I can see the writing on the wall that Bernard ends up technically qualifying as a good guy by the time we’re looking back on the show as a whole just to put it out there.
Now to the ending. Juliette appearing on the display and running over the hill while Patrick Kennedy was about to lead an angry mob to their deaths got me fired up. They saw her appear and in that moment it felt like everything might wrap up OK. The brutal reality of her message after finally cleaning the camera “NOT SAFE. DO NOT COME OUT” had to be such a gut punch to the rebels though. Thankfully Silo wasted little time in providing us the moment we had all been waiting for between Juliette and Bernard. To me, it seemed like what she said instilled genuine hope in Bernard, but I’m not ready to believe he’s 100% on her side just like that. Also not sure exactly what Juliette was thinking when she dove back into the airlock to trap herself and Bernard in a metal box that was about to be filled with fire, but I guess we’ll just have to wait another year to figure that one out. They have to end up surviving right? Right???? Can’t put into words how upsetting that would be to me, but Juliette was in a firefighter suit so I think she’s at least all good. Jury’s still out on the Nard Dog though.
As the screen faded to black, I looked over at my wife: “I don’t want it to be over”. Those genius Silo writers were on top of it again though! BOOM we’re in… the world as we know it? My mind was running a mile a minute at this point, but it immediately became clear that we were getting a flashback to the before-times. A Congressman and a reporter meet for a “date” and the reporter begins a line of questioning related to a “dirty bomb” from Iran. As the Congressman calls off the date, he leaves her with the same PEZ machine that set the Silo story into motion with George discovering it at the beginning of S1.
One final Bernard thought in case this really was the end: He can be the antagonist of the show while simultaneously trying to be (and believing he is being) the good guy. Part of the allure of his character is the fact that he ALWAYS cites the good of the silo as the reason for his actions. Maybe hindsight shows that lying to the people of the silo was actually the best thing for them and curiosity needed to be snuffed out because their overall existence is hopeless at the end of the day. Either way, it’s clear that Bernard removes his personal feelings from interfering with his decision-making as Mayor/Head of IT (i.e. killing Meadows who he clearly had feelings for) and maybe this is because he is truly committed to putting the life of the silo and its citizens first.
I have too many theories about where things could go in season 3 and haven’t had enough time to bounce them off other Silo fans to commit to a true “prediction” yet. That said, my initial thoughts for S3:
- Lukas potentially causes some issues despite being a good guy. IDK, he seemed pretty sure that “nothing ever mattered” after his encounter down deep, so I wonder if this negatively impacts the protagonists’ progress towards revealing the truth next season
- Bernard and Juliette survive the fire and work together. Bernard really seemed moved by their brief conversation in the air lock so I’m feeling decent about this thought. I think it’ll be tough to get most to trust Bernard, but I think he respects Juliette in his own way and would work for her as long as he isn’t burnt to a crisp.
- Camille Sims is the X Factor (I know this isn’t a hot take). Why did the AI voice ask to see her alone?? This girl has made a habit of going rogue and clearly has some personal motive to be in control of the silo with her hubby. Pretty sure Camille is gonna be running the show in the Sims household a lot more in S3
- Jimmy and Hope save the day. These two new characters have too much of a bond with Juliette to not clutch up for her next season. I have zero clue what to expect, but the general thought in my head for S3 is Silo 18 has to come together to fight their common (unknown) poison gas enemy and these two show up just in the nick of time to get the good guys back on the right path.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Let me know your S2 thoughts and S3 predictions in the comments. Follow and tweet at me on X @CakesBLNT. While you’re at it, follow our main page @BLNT_Chicago to join the conversations and see all of our posts as they come out!
Starting S2:
Finishing S2:
One response to “Must See TV: Silo Season 2 Review *No Spoilers* (Maybe)”
Rebecca Ferguson makes my meat rise when she gets angry. Oddly enough so does a shell shocked Tim Robbins.