Each week Joe and Terry discuss Apple TV’s Silo Season 3, alternating between our respective sites.
Spoilers follow for S03E05, “Memory”
- Catch up on Season 1: 1.01-1.02 / 1.03 / 1.04 / 1.05 / 1.06 / 1.07 / 1.08 / 1.09 / 1.10
- Catch up on Season 2: 2.01 / 2.02 / 2.03 / 2.04 / 2.05 / 2.06 / 2.07 / 2.08 / 2.09 / 2.10
- Catch up on Season 3: 3.01 / 3.02 / 3.03 / 3.04
S03E05 “Memory.” The events following Juliette’s return come to light–and unexpected allies are made.
JOE
Intriguingly enough Terry, we have our very first episode of season three that is strictly contained to a single timeline* as “Memory” keeps the action firmly in the Silo.
*Mostly. I’m still unconvinced the finale moment with Daniel (Ashley Zuckerman) and Helen (Jessica Henwick) getting caught in a remotely driven car was necessary, but whatever show!
What I liked about this episode is that we’re finally bringing our supporting cast in on the secret. Obviously it’s a big deal that Bernard (Tim Robbins) is still alive, so I appreciated that writer Katherine DiSavino’s teleplay is dedicated to catching up viewers about the missing details that took place immediately after the S02 finale. Also: kudos to director Aric Avelino for that stunning long take as we see Silo personnel come together to lift Bernard’s prone body down to the incineration room on a repurposed door – it’s a pretty amazing visual.
Of course, a lot of the early part of the episode centers around the discovery that Sims (Common) is the one responsible for stashing Bernard in the Down Deep. It seems that for the last several months the head of Judicial has been actively working against his wife Camille’s (Alexandria Riley) plot with the Algorithm to dispense of both Bernard and Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson).
New to this equation are Knox (Shane McRae) and Shirley (Remmie Milner), but also Martha (Harriet Walter) and her girlfriend Carla (Clare Perkins). All of them are pressed into service to help move bodies and keep secrets in exchange for keeping Juliette alive, which we discover is only because Sims orchestrated for Juliette to become mayor.
I’m unsure if any of this is truly revelatory, but it does fill in a lot of the gaps that both Jules and the audience were missing in the first half of this season. With our heroine on the cusp of remembering everything thanks to that damned Pez dispenser George gave her allll the way back in S01, it seems like Silo is finally ready to stop living in the past and move Juliette forward.
This does, however, raise a number of new questions that I posit to you, Terry:
- Does this mean that Camille is officially the new “Big Bad”?
- Does Bernard’s change in behaviour fully work for you? (I’ll confess his nicer/kinder/more forthcoming attitude felt a bit out of character to me, but perhaps that’s what having burns to 75% of your body will do?)
- Can this many co-conspirators truly hope to keep the secret from Camille? (Sims used the one guy to get Juliette in as Mayor; there were folks recruited to lower Bernard down; and now we have Knox, Martha, Carla, and Shirley involved)
- How much did you enjoy seeing Steve Zach’s Jimmy pop up in Jules’ memory montage as we remembered that the Safeguard is a pipe that can be covered up?
And, of course, that doesn’t even begin to tackle the episode’s other bigger revelation: an astonished Billings (Chinaza Uche) learns that apparently Orla Kent was murdered because she found out that – in just two short years – the light supply in the silo will be gone and everyone will die.
Umm…that’s not good, Terry!
TERRY
Back in our recap of Episode 2 of this season, I made the comment that I’m impressed with how Silo handles its minor characters on a macro level. That people like Patrick Kennedy could have been a throwaway side character who is there just to push the plot forward. And that the show keeps these minor characters in its pocket to bring out in sometimes masterful ways. Now we’re halfway through the season and Silo brings back a character we’ve only seen once before to help bring Jules’ memories back.
Regina Jackson (Sonita Henry) has been in one single episode, way back in Season 1. A relic dealer who was intimate with George before he began his tryst with Juliette, Regina gave George the hard drive that spurred…well, everything. Judicial interrogated her and she became a mole of sorts, informing them of George’s relics under nightly threats that if she didn’t help, her family would suffer.
This arrangement kept her mother out of the mines but also ostracized her from her family and turns her into a hermit. She retreated into her apartment with her cat, only ordering delivery and never stepping foot outside of the apartment again. And yet here she is, coming into the fold and becoming the instrument that not only enabled Jules’ escape but also helped her regain her memory.
What I loved about this episode is that it started tying all of the disparate pieces and characters together while, as you mentioned, finally propelling us forward.
“Memory” also, as you alluded to, gives us a couple character changes in Bernard, yes, but also in Sims. You asked if I was sold on Bernard’s complete 180 in terms of his attitude. Honestly, I don’t quite buy it. Not that screenwriter DiSavino is at fault; I think the problem lies in the failure of Season 2 to really carry the torch handed to it from the incredible first season. On one hand, it’s believable when you take into consideration that Bernard wanted to end his life at the end of Season 2…not to beat a dead horse, but the writing failed him and his character trajectory. The same can be said of Sims, who immediately turns his back on Camille. It makes sense to the viewer, maybe, because we’ve seen her downward spiral throughout this season. But we have to remember that “Memory” takes us back to the end of Season 2 and everything that Camille has done since then wasn’t in the calculus for Sims’ betrayal. Basically, he saw Bernard and…has a change of heart? Again, I don’t buy it.
But here we are.
I’ll let it slide only because the rest of the episode was immaculate and after some tire spinning, the Silo vehicle is finally on its way out of the mud. But I’m worried, Joe. Yes, I think this means that Camille is the new Big Bad. You mentioned the amazing visual of everyone bringing Bernard’s body down to the incinerator (I agree, by the way; a visual feast!), but there’s another choice shot that really established the central conflict.
After Sims showed Jules the Pez dispenser, finally triggering her memories, we see Camille and her goons quickly moving down the stairs to intercept them. And we’re given a final shot of the married couple; Sims on the stairs looking up and Camille looking over the railing at her duplicitous husband. Sure, it’s a little on the nose, but it draws a cinematic line in the sand and tells us things will never be the same.
My concern is something you also touched on: the number of co-conspirators is wildly growing and you can’t have a rebellion without some cracked eggs. As we move into the back half of the season, I’m nervously anticipating some of our favorite characters are hurdling towards doom. And that’s before you take into consideration the lightbulb situation.
To paraphrase your point above: It’s not good, Joe!
I agree that the final few minutes taking us back to the past wasn’t necessary. After an episode completely devoted to the Silo and Jules’ recovery, the switch felt incredibly jarring and unneeded. It felt like a cheap cliffhanger that, I’ll be honest, wasn’t even that exciting. AI taking control of their van in the same way that Elon’s cars careen into homes is not a great cliffhanger. I was more excited about that visual shot of Sims and Camille than these two wannabe detectives.
But back to you, Joe. After their wonky reunion in Season 2, were you excited about the Carla/Martha relationship development? Or are you worried that our queer couple is headed towards tragedy? Even though neither of us liked the ending scene, do you think this mysterious and presumably insanely rich Per Stensen is the cause of what ultimately befalls civilization? Not to bring him up twice in one recap, but is this giving Elon Musk to you, as well? Do you have any thoughts on the missing lightbulbs and who’s to blame? Finally, we’re officially halfway through the season…any guesses on where it’s going next?
JOE
I mean…you’ve got to assume that pulling out a threat about literally turning off the lights is going to dominate the proceedings, so the hunt for the missing bulbs seems like an obvious answer. But aside from that, and the escalating tension between Camille and everyone, I’m not entirely sure.
You’re right that we have to get to Per Stensen eventually because the series isn’t going to simply dangle the name indefinitely, so that could be a destination for Daniel and Helen’s storyline.
As for Martha and Carla? While I did wonder if Carla was brought back simply to be killed off, I ultimately don’t think that’s what’s going to happen. After all, it would be cruel of Silo to finally let them be together only to fridge one or the other (though lesser sci-fi shows have done it). As someone who never latched on to Carla, though, if she simply faded into the background so that we can continue to get tough-as-nails Martha, I would personally be fine with that!
We’ll find out when we return to Gayly Dreadful next week to discuss episode 3.06 “The Drive.”
Silo airs Fridays on Apple TV
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