Reviewer Rating: 4/5.0
4
The best scene in The Silo Season 2 Episode 3 is at the beginning.
Rebecca Ferguson plays the flustered, confused, processing brain to perfection.
It’s all a shocking revelation, watching Juliet struggle to understand simple concepts like the number of silos and the idea of the sun. Judge Meadows summed it up best a few scenes later:
“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. It’s probably like trying to imagine a color you’ve never seen.
In fact, this somewhat sums up almost everyone in the Silo, even Bernard Holland, and by extension the audience. Shows like this make it hard for consumers of Hugh Howey’s work like me to hold back.
Meanwhile, Steve Zahn (Solo) gives an excellent performance as a man who has been completely alone for decades. It’s not Tom Hanks’ Cast Away level, but still believable.
Only three episodes into a nine-episode series, “The Silo” is already an interesting look at politics. Episode three opens the cafeteria window with a giant “Lie” title.
Everything that follows is a revelation of sorts, from Rebecca Ferguson’s brilliant account of information overload to Judge Meadows learning the truth about Juliet’s claim to be outside.
Coming out of the vault was an assault on Solo’s senses, while the death of the entire silo timeline was news to Judge Meadows.
Lies are built on lies. Silos cuts to the heart of the consequences. Can governments appease angry citizens with handouts? What happens when careful checks and balances fail or simply don’t exist?
How long can people tolerate restrictions on what they say, what they do, what they see and hear? The real political and governance power in silos lies with IT. In many ways, this represents technocracy.
That’s surprising, considering Silo is an Apple product. Meanwhile, the lower levels, led by Shirley, are reaching boiling point. Shirley was a pain in the ass in Season 2 of The Silo.
On the one hand, she’s understandably fed up with IT’s oppressive tactics. On the other hand, she’s the most unlikeable character in the realm, always having a scowl on her face in every scene.
A hot-tempered, willful, highly emotional personality is one thing. But no matter what the circumstances, Shirley will never deviate from this role. It ultimately reduces the impact of several scenes throughout the episode.
It’s hard to feel sympathy, commiserate, celebrate a small achievement or mourn the dead when a persistent sneer is in front of people.
Opposite him is one of the highlights of the episode, Judge Meadows. She’s quirky, serious, and funny all at the same time—a difficult mixture to make, but one she pulls off with a mesmerizing inner joy.
She conveys an almost telepathic thought process. You can almost see the gears moving upstairs as she teleports them onto the screen, affecting anyone she interacts with.
The way she dominates Bernard Hollander evokes a sense of restrained happiness – it’s nice to see Bernard get what he deserves, but restrained by the whole situation.
“Did you get all the measurements you needed? Well, you can leave now. Don’t come back without my clothes.”
It’s clear that at some point in the Silo’s history, there was more than a friendly relationship between the two men.
Meanwhile, Judge Meadows just wants to get out, and the scenes where she’s alone are some of the most dramatic and affecting in the show.
As always, the cinematography is excellent, although there’s not much to see inside the silo. Every scene is filled with an oppressive sense of dread, from the filthy and squalid lower floors to the clean yet overwhelmingly overwhelming upper floors.
In Silo 17, a haunting sense of abyssal loneliness persists, echoing in the empty, gaping dark caverns and distant dripping sounds.
My initial reservations about The Silo Season 2 remain. While a lot happened in this episode, it felt like the plot wasn’t progressing.
All characters stay where they started. Juliet coaxes Solo to come out as gay throughout the series in various dialogue scenes with him.
Shirley rages at the bottom of the silo, while Knox preaches restraint. Judge Meadows still had not received her lawsuit, and Bernard was no closer or closer to ignorant sedition.
In three episodes, no character is closer to their goal. This may be due to reading Hugh Howey’s series of articles.
We are about halfway through the second season, and Juliet has completed about 60% of the first book. And, I would like to add, the first book reads very, very thin.
The series includes three books: Wool, Transformation, and Dust. The second book, “The Transformation,” is almost completely removed from Juliet’s time frame. That leaves two books to tell a relatively short story.
It’s easy to see why Apple would want to stretch it out a bit. Unfortunately, this also means a lot of filler material is needed. It’s a fine line to walk. Too much filler material can become redundant and boring.
Departing from the original story with new content that wasn’t present in the original story may alienate some of the fan base. There’s still plenty of time for Season 2, and I hope Apple can find a satisfying medium.
For those who haven’t read the book yet, there are some exciting and very unexpected characters awaiting them. On its own, Episode Three is a solid chapter in the Silo Saga in a world without the previous books.
It provides some interesting examinations of government on a smaller scale, with engaging character interactions that effectively deepen the mysteries of the silos while revealing the existence of as many as 49 silos.
“The Silo” continues to push science fiction in new directions. It’s not always about outer space and time, you know? Despite the slow crawl toward the distant finish line, I’m still on board.
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