The first season of Silo was special. Created by Graham Yost and based on Hugh Howey’s books, the Apple TV+ show has found the right balance of social issues and cool sci-fi mysteries, all set on fantastical sets, with big set pieces and fun action to boot. Everything pointed to the second season who would continue on that path. Alas, with the second season now coming to an end, we have to say – it was a disappointment. Ten episodes filled with repetitive time-wasting that thankfully led to a satisfying finale with a horribly tantalizing final tease.
Most Silo In the second season, it felt like it was the same two stories over and over again. In the mysterious second silo, Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) just kept talking back and forth with Solo (Steve Zahn) about a bunch of different things. And in the main silo, the deeper workers—led by Mechanical—became increasingly frustrated with those higher up, led by the head of IT, Bernard (Tim Robbins), leading to a threat and eventual mutiny.
From week to week one story would be a little more interesting than the other, almost like a see-saw where things went up and down but didn’t really go anywhere. That slowly began to change in the last few episodes, leading up to the finale when the Mechanical worked out a very cool plan to try to take over the silo and Juliette — finally and blissfully — returned to her silo. Throughout the season, the audience continued to learn interesting tidbits about the world. How many silos were there, where the relics are kept, who knows what, etc. All the things we wanted to know. But we rarely saw any key characters learn or share that knowledge, which was frustrating. That was set to change with Juliette’s return, except the finale ended before she could reunite with everyone else. Which is fine. We can wait.
Most excitingly, though, Juliette’s long-awaited return wasn’t the end of the season. The end of the season was a flashback that raised various issues and questions in a way that made us remember why we were watching Silo in the first place.
The last scene of the second season takes place in a much more modern Washington DC, as a young congressman named Donald (Ashley Zukerman, best known for Street of fear films) goes to a bar to meet a journalist named Helen (Jessica Henwick from Game of Thrones and Iron fist). Now, right now, given that society is still functioning, we don’t know why we’re going back in time. How does it connect with Silo?
As the two talk/flirt, we learn a few things. We learned that something big had happened. A 9/11 event, like Pearl Harbor, that doesn’t need to be named to get recognition. We know that the military did something impressive to save the people of New Orleans. There are problems with Iran. For some reason, people don’t use the term “date” anymore. We also learn that before entering Congress, Donald was in the military and had a master’s degree in engineering. Seems like an important educational focus if you want to, I don’t know, build 50 massive silos.
Soon Donald realizes that this is not the blind date he thought and we get the biggest information. Helen wants to talk to him about something more serious. Mainly, whether or not retaliation against Iran is coming and whether a provocative “radiological weapons attack” even happened. (This immediately made us think of a great discovery Fallout the first season in which we learn… something I don’t want to spoil here if you haven’t seen itbut this connection between corrupt governments and saving society in the underground seems to be important. Is that where Silo going? I turned.)
Donald decides to leave before things go any further and gives Helen a gift. Just something he picked up at a local grocery store. It’s a Pez gummy duck dispenser. Probably the same one who now lives in the silo that we’ve been following for two seasons. (Oh, and the magazine that Donald is carrying has a photo of someone in a hazmat suit like Doc Brown in Back to the future. Nice touch.)
Okay, so there’s a lot to digest, and here’s what we know. This is indeed a memory of some of the first baby steps in the creation of the silo, which is the main focus of the second book in the Hugh Howey series. The bulk of that book is the story of the creation of the silo, and Donald is a key player in that. AND, since we now know both Zukerman and Henwick will be regular guests in season three Silo, we can safely assume that is where the next season is going. Additionally, assuming this is the same Pez dispenser that (Common) Mr.’s son now owns. Sims, Helen or her family arrive at that silo. Why did she keep him? Perhaps it reminded her of the global change led by the man who had given it to her. Like we said, a lot to digest.
Seeing how and why the silos were created in tandem with the revelations at the end of season two (mainly the “Safeguard” thing and the omniscient voices coming from the tunnels) seems like a perfect fit for season three. Juliette is back and wants to learn more about who created the silos and why. And we, the audience, will be one step ahead of her because we see it in the flashback.
It’s all very exciting. Honestly, almost enough to forgive us the largely disappointing second season and get us excited about what the third, and then the fourth and lastseasons Silo it will stick. Do you agree Let us know below.
Want more news about io9? Check when you can expect the latest Miracle, Star Warsand Star Trek editions, what’s next for DC Universe on film and televisionand everything you need to know about the future Doctor Who.