Apple TV’s Silo returns for S03. After a disappointing second season, can the Graham Yost-created series get back on track?
Spoilers follow for Silo S03E01…
S03E01 “Who Are You?”: New mayor Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) can’t remember anything from her time outside–or her past.
JOE
We’re back for another season of Silo shenanigans, Terry! I will confess that I went into the premiere cold, without watching a recap video or revisiting our notes, and, as a result, I definitely struggled to remember some pertinent details.
Not helping matters: one Juliette Nichols, now Mayor of the Silo in the wake of Bernard’s (Tim Robbins) death, and apparent PTSD amnesiac, despite the fact that three months have passed since the events of the S02 finale.
I won’t lie: I outwardly groaned at the idea of a TV character with plot-convenient amnesia, so it was something of a relief that by the end of this first hour, we’ve learned that this is a new dastardly plot cooked up by Camille (Alexandria Riley) and the AI Algorithm in the vault. Together they have conspired to feed Juliette memory suppressing pills so that she doesn’t remember her friends…or herself…or (most importantly) her time outside of the silo.
Naturally, because we need dramatic tension, Jules does begin to remember a little. She’s experiencing a recurring dream of her final moments with Bernard and feeling like she wants to do <something>. She simply can’t remember exactly what.
In the meantime, she’s something of the figurehead for Camille and Sims (Common), who parade her around the cafeteria to loud applause from all of the commoners and have Juliette chair the newly formed Silo Council. While folks like Knox (Shane McCrae) and Shirley (Remmie Milner) mourn the loss of their friend and suspect something is going on, Sims and Camille have pressed forward under the guise of total transparency.
All of Bernard’s cameras have been removed, see? And there’s equal representation on the Council, see? And Camille won’t stop pressing Sheriff Billings (Chinaza Uche) for updates on the missing rebel leaders, like Kennedy and Lukas Kyle (both of whom are MIA and neither of whom are seen in the episode).
Of course, life isn’t exactly back to normal in the silo. Sure, the reports are mostly normal, but residents are still being lied to about cleaning and the outside world (hence the need for masked rebels to unfurl a large sign in the stairwell featuring a blue sky and green trees that reads “This is the truth. The display is a lie”). And the mechanical parts of their environment continue to fail after an estimated 300 year run, as indicated by grumpy Ed Harwood, head of mines, who marvels that a recent tunnel collapse doesn’t happen every week.
There’s also the usual inter/floor issues, such as Harwood’s dislike of Orla Kent, the new Shadow Supply; that’s mostly because she’s investigating his daughter, whom he believes should have been given the job. Methinks Orla is about to get herself into a bit of a mess investigating items that went missing during the rebellion; there’s a moment near the end of the premiere where she mentions having a lead that will undoubtedly prove to be dangerous when she looks into it next episode.
Finally, there’s the “Before Times” half of the episode, which follows Congressman Daniel Keene (Ashley Zuckerman) as he meets with his somewhat paranoid Navy fighter jet sister Charlotte (Downton Abbey’s Jessica Brown Findlay) and she orders him to find a way onto an Iran committee headed up by Senator Thuman (ER’s Laura Innes).
I’m sure you have thoughts about what went down over the deserts in Iran and how Charlotte greets Daniel in the fancy private hospital, but did you catch the mention that Keene is the “savior of New Orleans” because he created a drill for tunnelling that allowed them to shift away from levees?!
TERRY
You mentioned that you went into this episode cold and that’s what I started to do…but I was at a complete loss. Maybe it was because Season 2 felt so slight and had so many post-strike issues, but outside of the ending tease suggesting the Before Times and vague bits of Jules’ time in the other silo…I was a blank.
So I actually used our recaps to remind me of how that season ended and why this season begins with a groan-worthy cliche of amnesia. And it reminded me that we briefly talked about not continuing the recap coverage because of how much we disliked Season 2…
But here we are!
For me, at least, I think it’s because the original season was so good and so different from expectations. Lest we forget, Silo constantly subverted expectations in ways that I keep hoping the show will reclaim some of that former glory. In that regard, “Who Are You?” feels like a reset. The gang’s back together in the silo, the rebellion is somewhat quieted and everything is peachy keen, based on the official message being shared.
I’m just stuck on the amnesia plot, if I’m being honest. I was kind of hoping that it was actually Jules pretending to not remember anything to save herself, but the dreams/memories and the note at the end suggest she actually is amnesiac.
To dig into your questions, though, I need to briefly recap the ending of Season 2. That season finale ended with a Fallout-style flashback to the Before Times in an irradiated Washington D.C., which was attacked with a dirty bomb. Senator Keene meets with a reporter and gives her the Pez dispenser that you could argue becomes the impetus for the entire show. In the finale, we learn that Congressman Keene is from Georgia – where the silos will eventually exist – and, as you mentioned, the creator of drills that operate underground without disturbing the soil.
I think this is confirmation that Senator Keene is involved in the eventual creation of the silos. I’m guessing he’s actually the architect simply because it would make more sense to follow the architect rather than someone simply involved in the creation. While we follow his attempt to get onto a specific committee, we also follow his sister who’s a fighter pilot sent on a secret mission to bomb a specific target in Iran. That mission goes disastrously because of a cloud floating at 50,000 feet. We know that clouds shouldn’t exist at that height because Charlotte helpfully tells us this isn’t normal.
What’s also not normal, Joe, is the black goop that causes their electronics to freak out and, for one unlucky pilot, setting off his missiles and blowing him up. It’s this goop that’s confusing me, though. I’m not sure if it’s just shoddy effects work, but the black goop seemed to defy laws of physics. There’s a brief moment when Charlotte holds the black gunk between her fingers and it almost seems to float away, as if it’s being affected by zero gravity. Maybe it’s the height they’re at? Maybe it’s wonky VFX? Or maybe it’s suggesting…something weirder. The clouds obviously weren’t naturally made. That goop doesn’t seem like it’s a natural substance. Is it man made? I’ve not read the books but I hope it’s not suggesting something alienlike.
Right now, the show is suggesting there’s a connection between the two women who have no memories. I’m curious if there’s some further connection between them or if this is just narrative symmetry.
Do you have any thoughts about the black substance, the weirdly prescient war with Iran, or if the Before Times storylines will turn into a political thriller? Are you onboard with the way Silo seems to have hit reset after its weak second season? And what about the masked Outsiders continuing the conspiracy theory that the world isn’t destroyed outside? Finally, who do you think the injured Outsider is?
JOE
Ah yes, during the attack, we see one of the masked figures (a woman, judging by the sound of their yelp) get hit on the wrist. I fully expect we’ll track down the person with an injury in episode two, but for now…I have no idea. I wasn’t sure if I misunderstood the nature of Orla Kent’s comment, but if there is, in fact, an underground tunnel linking the silos, then the mystery figure could be one of the survivors from the S02 silo where Jules spent most of her time?
But that seems like a stretch given what the series put the character through in order to get her there and back. It’s more likely residual members of the rebellion, since the series clearly isn’t giving up that storyline just yet.
But yes, let’s address the alien goo of it all. I definitely had the same reaction, if only because it feels like something of this nature belongs on a different show, not Silo (the X-Files reboot by Ryan Coogler is on the horizon, just sayin’!)
Of course, we say this as if Camille isn’t actively plotting with a sentient AI figure to control the entire silo, so clearly the show is willing to dip a toe into slightly harder sci-fi. It’s unclear how much of this Before Times is actually going to speak to the “present” day events with Jules and co. (though you’re right that having Charlotte repeat Jules’ dialogue more or less forces us to acknowledge the parallel).
All this to say, my best guess is that the black goo will initially be thought of as something alien, but will, in fact, be revealed to be a new weapon in humanity’s quest to self-destruct. The reference to Iran is unfortunately prescient (this season was filmed long before Orange Cheeto set his sights on the Strait, though I’m sure betting folks could have predicted he would make a play for oil while Silo’s S03 scripts were being written). Perhaps the black goo is the piece of warfare that ultimately drives folks like Keene and Thurman to develop a contingency plan in the event of annihilation? It seems plausible!
Back to you Terry, what else are you hoping for from S03? Do you think Sims is on the outside of his wife’s plans? Is Orla Kent going to find a familiar face when she goes investigating? (We do get a brief mention that Juliette’s mentor, Martha, has disappeared) And, be honest, do you really care about these Outsiders/Rebels?
TERRY
I absolutely do not care about the Outsiders. We’ve been down this road a few times so far, so unless it’s to make a statement about the past repeating itself, I just don’t care, Joe. As for what I’m hoping for this season…I think mostly it’s just to get us back to the quality of Season 1. I hope that the past sections add something of interest to the present, 300-some years later. What worked really well that first season was mystery surrounding the silo and with these forays into the past, I’m hoping it sets up additional mysteries.
Camille and Sims are interesting because the power dynamic seems to have shifted. I believe last season you called Camille Lady Macbeth and this season she sees to have eclipsed her husband. Partly in the name of screen time because Sims’ role seems a bit minimized whereas,a s you mentioned, Camille is cavorting with AI. I don’t know if Sims is necessarily on the outs with his wife, but she definitely seems to be driving the narrative forward in ways he used to.
Of all the new characters being introduced, Orla is the least interesting, so far. I hope that maybe she’ll become more interesting as the season progresses. Maybe we’ll find out next week when we go to Gayly Dreadful for “It’s All Good.”
Silo airs Fridays on Apple TV
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