Silo season 3's dual timeline was initially a pacing hindrance. The stakes and story differences between Juliette's present and the events surrounding Daniel, Helen, and Charlotte in the past were so great that, if not careful, Silo could have risked being two completely separate shows. Neither storyline could move ahead too fast for fear of the stories moving at drastically different speeds.
While the past timeline may have come across as being too slow-moving at times, especially when wanting the events of Juliette's present timeline to move a bit faster, ultimately, the season 3 finale, "Troy," showed why moving slower for Daniel, Helen, and Charlotte ended up being the perfect strategy. The conclusion offers an emotional character payoff that allows the slow burn of everything that had led up to it to be worth it, even if it did not feel like it would have that impact in the moment. “Troy” relies on all of the character-focused past storylines that may have never felt like they were answering the right questions to pull the trigger on an emotional climax.
The development of Daniel and Helen was mutually interesting when watching their eventual discovery of the Silo and frustrating because it was taking so long to get to the meat of the story. When it came to the past timeline, the main focus, in theory, would be on the creation of the Silos, why they were being built, and how they would come to fruition. For audiences looking just for answers about the Silo, Daniel and Helen’s side plots may have seemed like a waste of time, as they never exactly answer anything until the final few episodes, in which Daniel and Helen are given the full explanation of the plans for the Silo and why it was being used as a safety plan in preparation for the end of the world. However, “Troy” makes all of these character-based stories meaningful, as it tells the story of how Daniel had gotten his memory wiped and been renamed Troy, with the understanding that his role was to prevent revolutions and rebellions against the Pact.
Troy has no memory of Daniel, Daniel’s morals and beliefs, or his family, including his sister Charlotte, who was also memory-wiped and renamed “Susan,” or of Helen and their child. Troy performs atrocious acts, committing genocide against the rebels in Silo 17, finally explaining exactly what happened to a majority of their people during that escape. Even more, Troy does not care about all the innocent deaths he just caused, only having a main endgame in mind.
Due to spending so much time with Daniel throughout season 3, these acts are understood as the complete opposite of who Daniel was and what he believed in. Seeing Daniel make these decisions through Troy’s eyes shows just how much of one's personality and humanity the memory-wipe can strip away. It sets up a few brutal questions about Troy in season 4, such as how long it will take for him to remember that he is actually Daniel and how he feels about the actions he has taken since becoming Troy. Since Silo made Daniel such a main focus in season 3, it allows for seeing the character in a complex light. He is not just a cog in the machine of the Silo.
Troy participates in the horrors and awful acts that show how the founders and Silo 1 view what it means to survive. He does not argue against killing several people. Instead, he encourages it. However, the Daniel that viewers have gotten to know would never have made these decisions. He would not have killed so many people without blinking an eye. Daniel had his identity, his beliefs, and his true agency stripped from him. In that regard, he is a victim of the founders. The memory drug stole Daniel's true self from him, leaving Troy, not even a shell of Daniel's former self, in his place.
"Troy" also sets up many questions about Helen and what exactly she went through after she is presumably brought back into Silo 18. By the conclusion of the season 3 finale, it suggests that Helen is unlikely to still be alive. Helen was a determined reporter, which begs the question of what she truly knew or discovered during her time in the Silo. Of course, Silo still must answer what became of Helen and Daniel's child, and if Daniel's descendant just happens to be one of the current main characters who resides within Silo 18.
After waking up from cryosleep, Troy shows that some of Daniel's memories of Helen still remain, small pieces of a woman he cannot name. While those same memories do not reappear when Troy wakes up in the present day to confront Juliette and the rest of the rebels, it still begs the question of how tied to his former self he still is when he is finally told Helen's name. While it remains unclear if that truly unlocked anything, it does set up a version of Troy that may be confronted with the realities of being Daniel and the lie he has been living in for centuries.
As Silo concluded its third season, the stakes have never been higher. For Troy and Susan, the question remains up in the air as to whether or not they remember that they are really brother and sister. Meanwhile, Troy has just met Juliette Nichols for the first time, the woman who, as of the finale, will be leading the charge in an act to confront the residents of Silo 1 and conclude their reign of terror on the Silos, putting an end to their ability to kill the members of any Silo at will. Daniel, Helen, and Charlotte may not have had the most exciting storylines in season 3, especially compared to the big questions of seeing the creation of the Silo. But getting to know them as people set the foundation for understanding the impact they would have, and why seeing them as individuals was potentially even more important to the story as a whole.
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