Silo season 2 episode 4 recap: The Harmonium

Silo season 2 has been quite the slow burn, leading to what everyone sees coming: rebellion. In season 2 episode 4, Juliette and Solo finally make progress in their quest to get her back home but she may not have a home to return to.

As Bernard remains steadfast in keeping to The Order handbook, Meadows becomes his main opponent. But will his decision to place blame on Mechanical for something horrific, seal the entire silo's fate?

The current state of Juliette's silo

At this point, several different side plots are occurring simultaneously. Firstly, we have Bernard and Meadows, disagreeing about what course of action to take next, with Bernard wanting to follow procedure per The Order handbook and Meadows wanting a more updated and free-thinking approach.

When Bernard is not butting heads with Meadows he is with Sims, who is becoming more and more independent, choosing to work for himself over Bernard. Then we have the fallout with Mechanical, the breeding ground for a possible rebellion, who simply want answers.

Last but not least is Sheriff Billings and his separate investigation into Juliette's sentence. He has, thus far, been flying under both Bernard and Sims' radar.

Let's start with Billings, as his investigation just took a turn he didn't see coming. While meeting with Hank, who once worked in Mechanical, Billings learns of how Cooper was killed in the incident last episode.

Deciding to visit the morgue, Hank becomes enraged when one dead body is discovered missing. Cooper's body had been present but there was another, assumably the man who aided Juliette last season, who also asked to forget everything, including the passing of his beloved wife.

After Billings and Hank confirm that there were two bodies but now one is missing, they find themselves in dangerous waters.

Backtracking to Sims, he's been confiding with his wife about the situation with Meadows, to which she suggests an impeachment. It was common knowledge that Meadows was known to drink and hadn't been the same for several years.

This is due to her being Bernard's past shadow, but this is not common knowledge amongst the rest of the silo. Sims decides to follow his wife's advice, as many unpleased citizens remain stationed just outside Meadow's office.

But little does Sims know; Bernard is still one step ahead of him. Amongst the growing upheaval, Meadows is able to speak with Lukas, the young man who began to develop feelings for Juliette and in the end got sent to the mines as a punishment.

Speaking with Lukas alone, Meadows reveals to him that the lights outside that he sees at night are stars and that his theories about the Earth and sun are correct. She then cuts his sentence in half, giving him 5 years in the mines as opposed to 10.

This act of compassion startles Lukas and Bernard. Although Meadows clarifies that Lukas won't last more than a year in the mines, we think she's hoping he'll survive the sentence and earn back his freedom.

A solution to the growing upheaval in the silo seems to be right around the corner as Meadows plans to meet with Knox and Shirley from Mechanical, alongside Walker and Carla. But before Meadows can meet with them, Bernard invites her over to his place for dinner.

The betrayal

Bernard and Meadows enjoy a meal together when she realizes something is amiss. Bernard has poisoned her mushrooms, believing he had no choice as Meadows consistently wanted to do things against The Order.

Before she dies, he allows her to see via a VR headset of images of Costa Rica. The shared moment is both heartbreaking and sweet but when she passes, Sims arrives as planned.

Now Bernard can focus on his true plan; meeting with Knox, Shirley, Walker, and Carla, who barely managed to arrive due to the mass of rioters. But they too have a plan.

By dropping a red ball over the edge of the stairs, Mechanical is alerted to turn off all power in the silo. They wish to speak with Meadows and if they see her, they'll turn the power back on.

Bernard assures them they will, but allow only two of them to enter. By dropping a green ball over the side, the power is returned, and Knox and Shirley agree to go with Bernard.

What they didn't expect was to find Meadows, dead from a knife wound in her office where Sims was waiting for them. They've been set up, and while they flee to rejoin Walker and Carla, Sims tells the rioters how they murdered Meadows.

The crowd rushes the stairs, following the four down towards Mechanical.

Juliette's solution

Meanwhile, Juliette's luck might finally be changing as she and Solo work together to find herself a new suit. As Juliette works hard, Solo explores the silo he hasn't seen in years, recalling wonderful memories from his old classroom, and books he'd read.

However, whenever Juliette tries to ask him more, trying to figure out who he is and what happened to his eye, Solo changes the subject, avoiding her questions. While finding a suit is easy, keeping the poisonous air out so she can return to her silo, is far from it.

Still able to play an organ, Solo and Juliette decide to use several pieces of it that could work. However, Solo grows increasingly more anxious and worried about his vault home.

As Juliette dives in the water, to pass a barrier to the other side, she finds a firesuit, perfect for when she goes back outside. Upon her return, Solo rushes back to the vault but seems to have forgotten the code to enter.

Panicked, he knows he only has three chances or else he'll be locked out. He thankfully remembers the code on the third try and rushes inside.

His behavior, bizarre and abrupt, confuses Juliette who tries to coax him back to her. She recalls how she had been listening to him while searching for items she needed, including his expressed happiness over the circus and all the animals that once existed.

This seems to work as Solo leaves the vault again, hopefully, ready to get Juliette suited up so she can return home.

Silo season 2 episode 4 review: Is The Order secretly working against silos?

While we mentioned that season 2 has been a slow burn, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Season 2 will have 10 episodes, like the season prior, which is still plenty of time.

What I find confusing almost is whether Bernarnd knows what he's doing or not. He's very by the book, but by placing the blame on Mechnical, he just guaranteed a riot.

Now perhaps his plan was to have all four killed by the mob so that none can return to share what really happened to Meadows but at the end of the day, the silo cannot run without Mechanical. They literally just proved how they can turn off power at the drop of a ball.

Doesn't he know that if Meadow's death is blamed on this same group, a riot will still ensue? Unless he knows something we don't, we think he's leading the silo towards the same rebellion he's trying to squash.

Is this intentional as per The Order? What I find troubling is the situation with Billings and Hank.

They know too much now and once they learn of Meadows' death, things will only get worse. How long before Sims discovers what they are up to?

How long before they are also killed? Or will they be able to bring necessary reinforcements for Mechanical?

There are several buildups, each one more dangerous and threatening than the last. We're hoping Juliette will finally be making her way back home in the next episode because as much as we need to focus on her silo, we need the plot to proceed just a little bit faster.

Stream Silo season 2 episode 5 Friday, December 13 on AppleTV+.