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Apple TV+ has a long list of underrated yet outstanding movies and series, withSiloat the top of that list. Based on the trilogy of novelsWool, Shift,andDustby Hugh Howey, the silo is a refuge for Earth’s remaining population after a catastrophic event made the surface uninhabitable. However, not all is as it seems. Graham Yost, the creator ofJustified, adapted the trilogy of novels for Apple TV+. The first season delivers a compelling story with a top-notch cast.
Falloutfans will feel right at home withSilo, sharing both the future-retro aesthetic and the theme of those in charge not telling the residents everything. At the start of the story, the 10,000 residents of the silo are unaware of how the planet’s surface became the way it is. They know little about any history older than 140 years, which is when a group of rebels waged a war against the powers that be, to see the surface for themselves. Many artifacts that could tell the residents about the world before the silo were destroyed in the rebellion. It was because of that rebellion that anyone who says they want to “go out” is allowed to do so.
What is Silo About?
The story kicks off with the head law enforcement officer of the silo, Sheriff Holston (David Oyelowo), uttering the forbidden words: “I want to go outside.” Whenever anyone says this, the powers that be must oblige, as per the silo’s constitution. But in this world, nobody who leaves the silo survives.Fans are treated to a flashbackfor context.
Two years prior to the Sheriff leaving the silo, he and his wife, Allison (Rashida Jones), were given permission to have their first baby. To keep the population under control, all women in the silo have a birth control implant to prevent unsanctioned pregnancies. They’re given a year in which they may give birth. Unfortunately, a baby was never in the cards for the Holstons. Before their year ends, some revelations come to Allison that transform her mindset.
Allison and George
The technology within the silo doesn’t appear to be any more advanced than what one would find in an early 2000s home. Computers exist (there’s an entire IT department), butno touchscreens, no tablets, and no Siri. However, technology is severely limited by the Judicial department. Every once in a while, a resident will come across a relic of the past, which they must report to Judicial or suffer the consequences. Judicial decides whether the “relic,” as they call it, is suitable to exist or if they need to confiscate it. They confiscate most relics, which is the first sign that there’s something afoot.
Allison becomes entangled with an eccentric man on the lower floors of the silo, named George Wilkins. George calls for Allison, who works in IT, to help him with a hard drive he discovered in a restricted area. Allison is initially reluctant, knowing the hard drive is a forbidden relic. But George recognizes Allison as someone with aching questions, which is why he asks for her help over others in IT. She agrees, and they discover a long list of files on the drive.
The most important file is “Jane Carmody Cleaning.” When they watch the video, they see a former resident of the silo leaving, but what Jane sees isn’t the same thing other residents see on the big screen in the cafeteria. Residents see a charred landscape with gray skies and a dead tree. While Jane sees the same area,instead of a bleak landscape, she sees a beautifully lush setting with blue skies and birds flying past a green tree.
When Allison sees this, it changes everything. She questions her inability to get pregnant, along with everything else those in charge have told her. She ends up cutting out her birth control implant, discovering that the doctor deceived her and her husband. She then asks to “go out” in an attempt to show everyone they’re being lied to. When she exits the silo, she makes it to the tree before falling down dead, leaving the audience with more questions.
Sheriff Holston, Juliette, and George
Shortly after Allison leaves the silo, leaving her husband distraught and alone, George Wilkins takes his own life. However, his girlfriend, Juliette Nichols, an engineer from the bottom floor of the silo, claims it wasn’t a suicide. Sheriff Holston learns that George worked with Allison before she left. Heinvestigates and ends up falling downa similar rabbit hole to his late wife. He tells Juliette he will send her a signal if anything turns up from his investigation.
Unfortunately for Juliette, Sheriff Holston ends up requesting to leave the safety of the silo a few months later, without ever contacting her. Everyone convenes in the cafeteria to watch Holston clean the camera, remove his helmet, and crawl to Allison’s body. Without a lead lawmaker, Mayor Jahns (Geraldine James) needs to find a replacement Sheriff. While others like Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins), head of IT, have their own recommendations, Holston left his own in a letter to the Mayor: Juliette Nichols.
The Mayor is caught off-guard because she’s never heard Juliette’s name before, but everyone else is surprised since Juliette is an engineer who keeps the silo generator running. She has no experience with law. In fact, she doesn’t know a single word spelled out in the silo’s book oflaws, known as The Pact.
Upon meeting Juliette and questioning friends and family members, Mayor Jahns offers the position to her. Juliette first declines, but the Mayor gives her Holston’s badge, claiming it was what he wanted. Upon inspecting the badge, Juliette finds the word “TRUTH” carved into the back and recognizes it as the promised signal from the Sheriff. To the dismay of many, Juliette takes up the office of Sheriff and moves to the top floor of the silo.
10
Finale Date
Jul 19, 2025
Juliette primarily takes theposition of Sheriff to investigateGeorge’s death. She quickly learns that she might be in over her head and out of her depth. The same day starts her new job, somebody assassinates Mayor Jahns, leaving Bernard to take on that role in the interim. Juliette doesn’t trust him at first, but he grows on her after repeatedly going to bat for her when she butts heads with Judicial’s guard dog Robert Sims (Common).
Juliette learns there’s a lot that Judicial and others aren’t telling the citizens of the silo. For starters, Juliette learns that the one in charge of Judicial, Judge Meadows, is merely a puppet who does the bidding of the one pulling her strings. Secondly, Juliette discovers a network of cameras around the silo behind mirrors,spying on residentsin their homes and common spaces.
At first, Juliette believes Sims is the puppet master, as he keeps knowing things he shouldn’t and always seems to intervene at the right time. That comes to a head when Bernard offers support, as Juliette resolves to share all the secrets with the residents of the silo. When Bernard accidentally lets it slip that he knows she has George’s hard drive, Juliette puts it together. She tries to escape, but their meeting ends up being a trap.
There’s Something Bigger Going On
When Bernard finally captures Juliette, he confides that he would prefer to keep her in the silo because she provides a valuable contribution to the underground city as a mechanical genius. Unfortunately, if she continues to act out andspill certain secrets, it will cause an uprising within the silo that would be the end of civilization as they know it.
While Juliette sits in a cell awaiting her “protective” suit to exit the silo, her surrogate mother, Martha, is at work devising a way to keep Juliette alive. Despite Holston and Allison claiming the outside wasn’t as they were told, they still died. Everybody who ever exited the silo, despite wearing a protective suit, died within minutes of reaching the surface.Martha knows that the tapeused for these suits wasn’t as good as the tape that Mechanical uses deep down, so she uses her connections to make some changes to Juilette’s suit.
Juliette made history when she exited the silo. Rather than perishing minutes after reaching the surface, she remained standing, only falling to the ground when she tried to return Holston’s badge to his body. The tape that was originally used wasn’t meant to keep the wearer safe from toxins. It was meant to keep them alive long enough to see the hologram that IT had designed the suit to project, giving the wearer a sense of peace and happiness before dying. It showed them a world they had never seen before.
By using tape that didn’t deteriorate, Juliette was able to get far enough from the silo’s hologram sensor to see what the surface world really looked like. It was just as the cafeteria viewscreens showed:A dead, barren land with gray skies. However, over the hill, in the distance, Juliette saw a fallen city with crumbling skyscrapers. In her immediate vicinity, there are hundreds of other silo entrances, hinting at other civilizations just like hers.
What Happens to Juliette Now?
Thanks to the superior tape Martha equipped Juliette’s suit with, Juliette will be able to survive outside. However, it’sunknown how toxic the airis and how long that suit can keep her safe. She will have to find shelter before the oxygen runs out, which is where the second season will likely start. If the Apple TV+ series follows the novel series, she’ll find her way into one of the other nearby silos.
There are the ruins of a large metropolitan city in the distance, but it could take more than a day to travel there on foot. Not to mention, it’s unlikely to harbor any airtight refuge Juliette can use for shelter.
