This week’s episode is low on Juliette but high on tension inside the original silo. Here’s our review of Silo season 2 episode 2.
If your jaw was left on the floor at the end of last week’s episode when Juliette encountered a survivor in the other silo, you might be a tad disappointed this week. If episode 1 kept the focus tightly on Juliette, episode 2 takes us back to her original silo and what’s been going on there since Juliette went outside.
As you’ll remember from the end of season 1, Juliette didn’t clean the lens of the camera. This small act of defiance has since thrust the entire silo into anarchy and chaos and Tim Robbins’ Holland struggles to keep everything under control. Juliette has become a symbol of resistance, her initials painted on walls and her name whispered in crowds.
“In the event of a failed cleaning, prepare for war,” Holland’s handbook advises ominously. Episode 2 does suggest a war, or at least severe unrest, is coming as the citizens of the silo become more and more untrusting and restless. Another rebellion might be in the cards, but as we know from the flashback at the beginning of episode 1, that’s what killed the residents of the silo Juliette entered. Perhaps freedom does come at a deadly price.
Episode 2, titled Order, raises some interesting questions. Will history repeat itself? Are all the silos doomed to follow the same pattern of events? And has Juliette brought death upon the silo with her small act of bravery and resilience? One woman in the original silo claims she also wants to go outside after seeing Juliette walk over the hill, a feat no one else has managed. Of course, we already know Juliette only survived because of the special tape and the outside world is still toxic.
Going back to the familiar silo also means we revisit some familiar faces. We check in on Harriet Walter’s Walker and Iain Glen’s Dr. Nichols, Juliette’s dad. The episode dedicates a considerable portion of its runtime to Judge Meadows (Tanya Moodie), the alcoholic head of Judicial, who has decided to stop drinking. Considering the chaos inside the silo, it’s a pretty bold choice on the Judge’s part and we applaud that.
Holland needs Meadows’ help and support as he tries to calm the residents and bring some order into the silo. Meadows, who has some valuable information, is able to blackmail Holland and has a surprising request, which we wouldn’t dare to reveal here.
If episode 1 hinted at a tense and somewhat action-packed season, episode 2 reminds you that Silo is ultimately all about politics and fascism, about control. With today’s political climate being what it is, it’s hard not to watch Silo with genuine fear that we might end up just like these guys.
It’s hard to review episode 2 on its own; it feels almost like the second part of the season opener, like two sides of the same coin. If watched back to back, the two episodes create a rich and intriguing setting for the second season to unfold from. I couldn’t tell you where all of this is leading up to, but if Silo season 2 can keep up the intensity of these first two episodes, we’re in for another superb adventure underground.
Silo streams new episodes every Friday on AppleTV+.
