Hello, Silo fans!
Season two of the Apple TV series has become volatile in these last few episodes. I am happy to hear that this series has been renewed for a third and fourth season.
I am also happy Apple TV and other streaming services have taken up the torch from Netflix with a large quantity of quality television shows that give fans an intelligent choice of science fiction series as we previously reported.
Since a favorite of mine, Fringe (2008 to 2013) ended, and now that The Ark has not been renewed, science fiction shows are no longer being broadcast on network television for the time being in the United States.
Nevertheless, I have enjoyed Silo as well as several streaming science fiction series that I have covered for TeamWHR. I have enjoyed watching these three episodes of Silo and was able to follow the story arc along nicely thanks to the awesome AMC Executive Production Team of Graham Yost (series creator), Remi Aubuchon, Fred Golan, Nina Jack, Morten Tyldum, Ingrid Escajeda, Michael Dinner, Rebecca Ferguson, and of course, Hugh Howey, the author of the fantastic book series.
The cast itself is terrific, led by Rebecca Ferguson, who I have been a fan of for a while and who can hold her own against heavy hitters, as demonstrated in the current Mission: Impossible franchise.
Tim Robbins, Common, Steve Zahn, and Harriet Walter round out the other actors in the series. Seeing an Academy Award winning actor like Tim Robbins venture into science fiction television is nice, especially considering that he is primarily a movie actor.
Silo features an excellent supporting cast including Shane McRae as Knox, David Oyelowo as Sheriff Holsten, Billy Postlethwaite as Hank, Iain Glen as Dr. Pete Nichols, Chinaza Uche as Paul Billings, Avi Nash as Lucas Kyle, Remmie Milner as Shirley Campbell, Christian Ochoa Lavernia as Amundsen, Olatunji Ayofe as Teddy, Caitlin Zoz as Kathleen Billings, Tanya Moodie as Judge Mary Meadows, Chipo Chung as Sandy, Angela Yeoh as Deputy Molly Karins, Matt Gomez Hidaka as Cooper, Will Patton as Deputy Marnes, Akie Kotabe as Diego, a return of Amelie Child Villiers as young Juliette, and a superb supporting cast and crews.
This analysis will be a bit different from my normal routine television reviews. I will review the fourth, fifth, and sixth Silo episodes with a short synopsis of the top aspects of the story arc in each episode.
It will not be an in-depth scene by scene analysis as I usually do, but I will share with you my opinions and observations for the exciting episodes four, five, and six that follows our analysis of season two episodes one, two and three and hope you enjoy my Silo series analysis as much as I do writing it!
The Harmonium:
While Juliette (Ferguson) is trying to figure out how to fix her hazmat suit, Solo (Zahn) is tagging along in a way and trying to distract her from her task at hand.
I find Zahn’s character on the spectrum, giving her random facts about elephants and talking about 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. I am not sure if all of that is his intention because he is the only one in that silo or if what he is doing is intentional.
With the episode directed by Aric Avelino and written for the screen by Sal Calleros, both move the story forward to inform the next episodes.
With Holland (Robbins) and Sims (Common) discussing their plan to impeach Judge Meadows (Tanya Moodie) with the hopes of bringing the Silo to a united front, there may be the opposite effect, and chaos may happen.
Miscreant Mayor Holland has a plan of his own and has a corrupt plan to take even more control over the citizens of the Silo who are on the verge of rebellion. I had read that the character of Holland in the books is the opposite of the actor portraying him. Tim Robbins is a great actor, but another actor closer to Holland’s characteristics should have been cast. Considering his insecurity in life, it would make more sense to me and make what Holland is doing much more sinister.
Holland’s intentions toward Judge Meadows are nefarious as he “invites” her to his place to try on her new suit. His intentions are not what they seem. Unfortunately, Meadows finds out the hard way that Holland tricks her, and the dinner she ate, which he provided, had poisonous mushrooms. As she lay dying, he tells her that her death will unite the Silo.
Juliette tells Solo about the outside and how she is scared and lonely. No doubt Solo feels he has been alone for some time and can relate. Solo reminds me of a person who wants some company, and when he finds that company, he takes it upon himself to talk and talk about random things that do not make sense.
Knox (Shane McRae), Shirley (Remmie Milner), and Walker (Walter) go to see Judge Meadows, but only Knox and Shirley enter the room and find Sims there. Once they discover the judge is dead, a knife sticks out of her chest, “The people of the Silo have to take care of themselves,” Holland says to them in the room. Knox and Shirley exit calmly and tell the others to do the same, not to arouse suspicion that something is wrong. Sims lies to the crowd gathered outside Judicial and tells them that Mechanical killed Meadows, hoping to cause a rebellion uprising or riot—justice for his benefit.
The visuals of the Silo in general are wonderfully done. In specific, the spiral staircase that depicts various levels from down below to “up top” where the ruling IT group with the evil Miscreant Mayor Holland and his cronies work and live are very well done.
However, much of the series is very darkly lit. I assume that is intentional to show the bleak nature of the situation in the Silo, but it can be a bit difficult, in fact rather harsh at times. This often makes it hard to see what is happening in some of the scenes.
Descent:
With the mob incited in the previous episode by Sims, the mob is looking for Mechanical. Holland goes to visit Sims at his family home. He tells him that he will no longer be his shadow and that because he forced Holland’s hand, which led to the judge’s demise, Sims will now oversee the Judicial and become the new judge. There is a bounty for Knox and Shirley, one thousand credits each. That is enough incentive for the people of the silo to act. With Sims now judge, his priorities shift, although he has no idea that his wife Camille (Alexandria Riley) has a hand in helping Knox and Shirley hide. It is unclear if Camille would turn Knox and Shirley over or if she had other ulterior motives in mind. The director, Amber Templemore, and writer, Jenny DeArmitt, help move the story further into the chaos we see in the rest of the episode.
Holland is unhappy when hearing that Camille was spotted with the fugitives, but he has other plans. He recruits Lukas Kyle (Avi Nash) to help decipher the hard drive Juliette and Lukas had worked on together. Although Juliette never revealed to Lukas what she saw on the hard drive, Lukas is tasked with trying to piece together what was left of it. Lukas helping Holland is the catalyst for Kyle getting some time from his sentence in the mine. What Kyle discovers is love letters from Salvador Quinn to his wife. Holland’s reaction to hearing that made me wonder if he knew who Quinn was. It was also discovered that there are tunnels in their silo, but do not know where they lead. Holland keeps Lukas on to help figure out what those tunnels are for and where they might lead.
Sheriff Billings (Chinaza Uche) is suspicious of all the chaos and the sudden change in Sim’s role.
With Hank (Billy Postlethwaite), Billings discovers that Kennedy (Rick Gomez) is still alive and hiding in Mechanical. Kennedy convinces Billings that he knows all the “dirty secrets” of the silo and more and will tell him everything if he can get him some help for the bullet lodged in his shoulder.
While searching through the remains of an old silo to repair her hazmat suit, Juliette comes across some evidence that Solo may not be who he says he is. She finds a picture of Solo and Tiny, but the picture looks nothing like who she thinks Solo is.
When Juliette confronts Solo about what she sees, he berserk and tells her he is the IT shadow. With Solo leaving Juliette alone, she continues to find a helmet to help fix her suit. She eventually finds one, but with her injured arm now in a full-blown infection, she collapses.
Barricades:
This is the shortest of the three episodes I reviewed, just forty-five minutes. Holland knows more about what is happening than he lets on. Everything is “going as planned,” from the contaminated food to the barricade’s chaos. He wants Kyle to determine what that cryptic message is on Juliette’s hard drive. What does the code mean? And what does that mean for the Silo?
With Amundsen (Christian Ochoa Lavernia) not doing his job correctly, the barricade gets pushed to 120, allowing Mechanical to get the needed food. This may pose a problem for Holland, but it is only temporary. Diego (Akie Kotabe) meets with Sims and tells him that Mechanical has a saw that can cut through concrete. I assume that this fact is or will be significant in the upcoming episodes. Undoubtedly, that info will throw the proverbial monkey wrench in Holland’s plans. The director Michael Dinner and writer Jeffery Wang, worked together to keep the tension taut in this episode.
Sims is out of the loop and shares his concern with his wife Camille. They decide to cooperate, at least for the time being. Judge Sims then goes to warn Holland about what Mechanical is planning on doing.
Next, when Judge Sims sees Lukas Kyle in Holland’s office, he knows something is wrong because Lukas Kyle was sentenced to harsh punishment. Lukas should be in the mines serving his sentence, not helping Miscreant Mayor Holland.
Instead Lukas therefore continues to decipher the code embedded in the hard drive but cannot quite get all of it and needs more information.
Upon hearing this, Mayor Holland immediately makes Lukas Kyle his shadow with privileges including access to “The Vault”. I am sure that since Solo was in “The Vault” in his own Silo that more of this will be explained in later episodes.
Patrick Kennedy explained to Billings that when Juliette Nichols was on the run, the computer went down, and it was not a system reboot like he thought it was, but something else he could not explain.
Again, I assume this will come into play in later episodes. With that information, Billings finds Martha, Knox and Shirley and asks them what happened to Meadows. Upon learning the truth, he attempts to confront Holland about what he discovered, but Holland cuts off all communications. He tells Hank, “I do not stand with Judge, the mayor, or you. I stand with the law.”
In the final minutes of this episode, we finally see Juliette as she wakes up in bed. With Solo’s help, as he tends to her wound, she does not waste any time and wants to return with the helmet she found to repair her suit. However, Solo has other plans in mind. Juliette knows that she must help Solo stop the water from rising or it will eventually kill him. We will have to wait and see exactly what Juliette decides to do in the next episode titled “The Dive”.
Will Juliette help Solo in exchange for getting an undamaged hazmat suit, or will something else happen? I hope that what happens in the next few episodes helps fans piece together what the powers that be have in store for the Silo and what Juliette’s fate will be. I am sure those who read the books know where the series is going, but the writers may take a few liberties and change a bit of the story. I guess we will have to wait and see as we look forward to seeing the creators and cast at San Diego Comic-Con in 2025.
Thanks to Kenn for video and image embedding for my feature article and many thanks to you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency. Kenn will be back in the near future for Team WHR with more on Silo analysis. Join us as we prepare for the excitement in the new year when I visit the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival 2025 in April and in July when Kenn and I visit San Diego Comic-Con 2025!
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Until next time,
Regards,
