Season 1 |
Season 2 |
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Episode Guide
Episode 1 – | Review Score – 3/5
Episode 2 – | Review Score – 4/5
Episode 3 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 4 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 – | Review Score – 4/5
Episode 6 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 7 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 8 – | Review Score – 4/5
Episode 9 – | Review Score – 4.5/5
Episode 10 – | Review Score – 5/5
If there’s one genre that AppleTV+ usually nail, it’s sci-fi. For All Mankind, Dark Matter and Severance definitely stand out here, while one could argue that even Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Foundation hit this realm too, although if you’re a fan of Isaac Asimov’s work, I wouldn’t recommend diving into Foundation.
All of this leads us along nicely to one of 2023’s biggest surprises, Silo. Adapting the Wool Trilogy, Silo maintained the same level of allure and intrigue as seen in the books, with a compelling mystery woven throughout the episodes and a steady drip-feed of information, leading into an absolutely wild and crazy finale.
The end of season 1 saw Juliette step out of the Silo, faced with a ravaged wasteland and evidence of numerous other Silos in the area. Season 2 then wastes absolutely no time with this, sporting a single episode that keeps dialogue to a minimum and follows Juliette as she slowly walks across the wasteland in search of refuge. She does find that in another Silo, where this chilling graveyard plays out as a sign of things to come, if the rumblings of rebellion aren’t quelled in her own Silo.
Juliette is not alone here though, and if she has any hope of getting back home and saving her own Silo, she’s going to have to team up with a mysterious, erratic man named Solo. Her goal? To fix up a suit and get home.
From here, Juliette’s journey is sprinkled across the second season into bite-sized chunks, with the exception of the final two episodes, where some big reveals pave way for a nail-biting, ticking clock thriller for the finale, which once more ends on a huge cliffhanger. Thankfully though, Apple have renewed this one for two more seasons but trust me, it’s going to be an agonizing wait to reach that point!
The crux of the drama actually takes place inside our familiar Silo. With Juliette gone, Bernard is growing in power as the mayor and he’s aided by Judge Meadows and Robert Sims, as they work to try and quell a growing uprising occurring down deep in Mechanical.
You see, Juliette is now a local hero in these parts, with her stunt outside, and climbing over the hill, not to mention the computer program showing an idealized version of the outside world before it was shut off, causing those Down Deep to grow restless.
As a result of this, the vacant spotlight left by Juliette is occupied by Knox and Shirley. The pair work together to rally the people to their cause, and, presumably, overthrow the current world order. However, Bernard is desperate to stop this before he loses control completely, setting up a fascinating character dynamic.
The first half works to draw the battlelines and shows a few brief skirmishes to keep things interesting, before the second half dives deeper into the conflict. While Knox and Shirley are the main drivers, there are a number of other subplots that bubble up across the season to pad out the run-time.
Pete Nicholls, Juliette’s estranged father, gets a lovely arc that’s nicely realized here as he starts to understand what’s happening, while Martha also gets more screen-time too. There’s a light romance between her and Carla that’s used as ammunition to drive their motivations forward, but it’s never given much room to breathe so these scenes don’t feel as impactful as they could have been.
More effective however, is Camille Sims, Robert’s wife, who steps out the shadows and shows her proficiency. She’s a fascinating player and as the episodes progress, becomes much more integral to the central conflict. In fact, given the way this season ends, it feels like her family are geared up for a much more significant role moving into seasons 3 and 4.
There’s also a return of Lukas from the first season too, who’s elevated to working as Bernard’s lapdog and while it initially feels quite loose and under-developed, the second half shows this as a big catalyst toward finding out the truth – and the ensuing rebellion that threatens to kick off at any moment.
Silo definitely works better as a binge though compared to watching a single episode a week. The pace is deliberately slow and methodical, just like the first season, but most of what we get in season 2 is simply moving pieces across the board rather than driving the narrative from one set piece to the next. Watching this over the span of 2 or 3 months makes this season feel significantly longer than it actually is. And slow is the key ingredient here that Apple seems to stir into almost all of its productions.
In fact, I’d argue the biggest problem here – alongside the script and the pacing – stems from the editing. While radical, I genuinely think the entire season should have been completely re-cut because in its current format – showcasing bits of Juliette’s mechanic work alongside our Silo looking to rebel – only exacerbates the issue. Now we don’t just get one slow main story – we have two, simultaneously grappling for screen-time, but not doing a whole lot with the moments offered.
It’s such a shame too because if you have the patience to stick it out, the final 3 episodes are excellent. There’s a ton of drama and some great reveals that feel like missing puzzle pieces that slot into place, having been hidden in plain sight all this time. These segments explain why we got such a long, drawn-out episode with Juliette early on, but given the release schedule of this series, you will have waited 3 months between episode 1 and 10 for that to be paid off.
Beyond the narrative and pacing though, it’s great to see the other elements of Silo are still just as endearing as they were before. The music from Atli Orvarsson is suitably chilling and epic in scope, while the visuals are great across the board.
The first episode with Juliette in the wasteland is such a perfect display of visual storytelling and feels akin to the opening from Wall-E for its grand design and plotting. That’s before mentioning the underwater scenes (and there are a fair few in this season) which capture the uneasy, surreal feel of the deep in a compelling way, with plenty of long shots and slithers of flashlight trying to penetrate the dark.
It’s a shame then that these glimmers of brilliance are mired by a plot that drags its heels and takes its sweet time to get to the good stuff. And for those who have watched a lot of stuff on Apple, this does feel par the course for most of their shows.
Silo season 2 certainly isn’t bad though, but compared to season 1, this is an exercise in patience. I’d personally recommend waiting for the whole thing to come out before indulging in this, binging the season in one sitting. And by the end, given the shocking conclusion we get, you’ll be glad that you did.
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Verdict - 7/10
7/10