Silo season 2 concludes with a thrilling and unpredictable episode. Just when audiences thought they finally had all the answers, a curveball is thrown that not even Bernard saw coming.
As Juliette and Solo/Jimmy make a horrific discovery about the Safeguard, Juliette's silo unleashes a new rebellion Bernard fails to stop. Will the Safeguard be initiated? Will Juliette reach her silo in time? But perhaps the biggest question of all is how and why did the silos come to be.
Now that Juliette has the fire suit, she can finally return home however Solo, whose real name is Jimmy, makes a startling discovery upon exploring his old home. It turns out that there is more to Jimmy's silo than previously thought.
We come to learn that the Safeguard is a means of killing the entire silo via poisonous gas through a pipe in the silo itself. But who could have that power and why?
Jimmy's parents were able to prevent the Safeguard from occurring however the residents still demanded to go outside, and they all died from the unhabitable environment. Worried that the Safeguard will be initiated in her silo, Juliette rushes to leave finding the fire suit damaged.
Luckily Jimmy ensured the other fire suit was safe to use, testing it in the water himself. Although Eater, whose real name is Hope, wants to leave, it's clear she will be staying with the other teens and children.
Juliette really lets them have it for tormenting Hope all these years for something that was never her fault. Now that the air has been cleared and Juliette helps them see reason, everyone can begin living more cooperatively. Juliette promises Jimmy she will return one day before venturing outside.
Back home, Lukas tries to find Bernard but gets thrown into the violent mix of the rebellion. Surprisingly, Bernard foolishly sends every guard down to Mechanical to arrest the residents and diffuse the bomb.
Once they are all detained, with Walker, Shirley, and Knox moved into the same holding cell as Carla, the guards are busy trying to deactivate the explosives attached to the center of the silo. Walker requests a meeting alone with Bernard where she reveals that many people in Mechanical use signs similar to sign language to communicate due to the high volume of all the machinery.
It's revealed that while she was being filmed, she was able to converse with Knox using these signs to tell him what was occurring. As Bernard realizes this, the guards discover the bomb was not attached to the center mechanism.
On the stairs, Dr. Nichols and Hank are planning to detonate the actual explosives that were placed on the stairs. However, the detonator is missing, which leaves Dr. Nichols no choice but to sacrifice himself and ignite the explosives.
Now all the guards have no way of protecting IT, which is where Mechanical wants to go. As several guards still loyal to Sheriff Billings help free him and the Mechanical/Lower-level citizens, Lukas finally reaches Bernard and tells him what happened in the tunnel.
We do not hear the conversation, but Sims witnesses the exchange and Bernard's sudden change in demeanor. Lukas quits his job as Bernard's shadow and decides to visit his mother.
Sims asks Beranrd what Lukas told him only to finally be appointed Bernard's shadow. Unsatisfied with being in the dark, Sims follows Lukas and orders him at gunpoint to tell him what he told Bernard.
Unphased, Lukas only shares the code, and that Sims will find his answers with The Algorithm. Although the rebellion was meant for the people to learn the truth, it quickly became clear that most of the people want to go outside.
As Shirley, Knox, and even Billings fail to stop the masses from wanting to kill Beranrd and go outside, Juliette finally emerges on the screen. She cleans and holds up a message warning everyone not to go outside.
Knowing she's running out of time; Juliette struggles to open the chamber of her silo when it suddenly opens for her. As she makes her way back inside, she's confronted by Bernard in a suit with a handgun.
Juliette reveals she knows about the Safeguard and convinces him that there might be a way to stop it from happening. Bernard tries to stop her as the doors begin to close and a decontamination system of blowing fire commences.
Sims, Camille, and their son go to meet The Algorithm, where it asks Sims what he wants to do. Sims proclaims he wants to save the silo. In order to achieve this The Algorithm requires Camille to order Sims to stay with his son.
Silo season 2 finale ending explained: A conclusion no one saw coming
Perhaps the biggest twist of the season 2 finale is the sudden flashback to before the collapse of the world. A congressman named Daniel arrives at a busy bar restaurant in Washington D.C. to meet a reporter named Helen.
At first their interaction comes off like an awkward first date but unfortunately for Daniel, this is anything but a date. Helen has been hearing rumors about how Iran was not responsible for a dirty bomb and wants to know more.
Daniel, either clueless to the truth or refusing to share such information decides to leave. Believing this to have been a first date, he gives her the gift he purchased.
The gift just so happens to be the same PEZ dispenser we've been seeing the entire show.
Silo season 2 episode 10 review
So, that was Silo season 2, and regardless of all the differences from the original source material, it didn't completely meet my expectations in comparison to season 1. While I loved getting to know other characters in the silo, from Knox and Shirley to even Hank and Camille, I don't like that it came at the cost of Juliette's excessively long stay at Solo's silo.
Solo's story was very interesting but the slow burn to a huge payoff was almost too slow. Juliette and Solo's budding friendship through frustrations and side quests was endearing and really spoke to the uniqueness of Juliette's character as a whole.
But now that a glimpse into the past has been revealed, I'm curious as to whether we'll get more flashbacks in season 3 or if the entire season will be one giant flashback. As expected, the cause for the end of the world and the creation of the silos was at least partially thanks to the U.S. government.
But what may be the most confusing of all is the Safeguard system. If there are multiple silos, one statistically must be in charge of all of them.
So what causes this silo to decide to initiate the Safeguard? Realistically the Safeguard probably would have happened well before the rebellion commenced to this magnitude. The same can be said of Solo's silo. His parents were able to stop the Safeguard from happening but everyone rushed outside and died anyway.
Wouldn't the Safeguard have begun before the people opened the chamber? Considering it's safe to assume that the last of humanity is living in these silos, why wasn't the Pact and for that matter the system that the silo that oversees all the others have a better way of preventing a silo extinction?
At this rate all the silos will eventually collapse and thus the end of humanity. So why go through all this effort, time, resources, and so forth just to kill the entire silo?
With all of that said I look forward to season 3, eager for more flashbacks and how Juliette's story will continue.
Stream Silo seasons 1 and 2 on AppleTV+.