With only a few more episodes to go, things kick up a notch this week in the silos. Here’s our Silo season 2 episode 8 review.
As per usual, this review doesn’t include spoilers for this week’s episode but will discuss previous episodes in detail.
Here are some words I never thought I’d type in an episode review of one of AppleTV+’s best series: Silo has the same issue as Mufasa: The Lion King.
Well, kind of. Both are hindered by a double narrative that seems unnecessary and not that interesting. In Mufasa, every time the narrative cuts back to Rafiki telling the story to Simba and Nala’s daughter, the entire film comes to a halt. The tension is interrupted and we’re pulled away from the story, jacked out of something really interesting.
With Silo constantly hopping between the two silos has proved to be more of a distraction than a doubly intriguing narrative. Don’t get me wrong, both narratives are interesting but the balance between the two is completely off and it’s never been clearer than episode 8.
That being said, episode 8 is one of the best episodes of Silo season 2 and it feels like we’re finally getting to the meat of the story.
The episode starts exactly where episode 7 ended. Juliette swam down to fix the pump, saving the silo from ending up under water in a matter of weeks. Things didn’t go quite as planned as Juliette ran out of air and after finally managing to get to the surface, Solo was long gone and there were signs of a struggle. Is someone else in the silo too?
Juliette’s story has lacked some fire this season, but this could change things. For most of the episode, Juliette is looking around for who could have taken Solo, but also dealing with the effects of rising from the depths too fast. Solo did warn her about that, but times were desperate and Juliette had no air, so what can you do? There are some really impressive visuals here, something that Silo hasn’t always managed to do since it’s so plot-driven.
Over in silo 18, Lukas is still trying to decode Salvador Quinn’s letter. As he goes around the silo trying to find more information on the guy, he quickly finds out Quinn’s name is a bit of a dirty word. Mechanical are also struggling and running out of things like basic medicines. They hatch a desperate plan to break into the medical bay, but Walker is still desperate to save Carla.
Despite all my criticisms of the season, I am enjoying Silo tremendously. The performances are top notch and I am intrigued by both narratives, even if showrunner Graham Yost struggles to find the right balance between them. Lukas digging into the past feels particularly interesting, especially when juxtaposed with Juliette’s adventures in the other silo. I want more of this!
The last two episodes have helped Juliette’s story a lot. For a couple of weeks now, it has felt like her journey to find out more about the world outside of her old silo has been going nowhere and we haven’t learned that much, but this week’s revelations have potentially mindblowing effects. I’m wondering if Silo would suit bingewatching better, if the pacing would feel more natural. If the series is building to a more organic, more cohesive finale that ties everything together, I suspect it might have been easier to watch all episodes in one go.
This week’s episode also has a tragic side to it as Walker struggles to convince others to save Carla. All of these characters have their own personal interests and everyone believes they’re doing the right thing here. “I’m trying to save the silo,” Tim Robbins’ Mayor Holland insists and I genuinely believe this is what the character believes. If anything, Silo season 2 is a much more emotionally complex story than the previous one.
There’s only two more episodes to go and I can’t say I know what the endgame here is. Silo is coming back for another two seasons so it’s likely season 2 will end on a cliffhanger, much like season 1 did with Juliette venturing out and finding evidence of more silos. That being said, I’m very excited to see where this goes and what the overall narrative for the series as a whole ends up being.
Silo season 2 episode 8 is streaming now on AppleTV+ with new episodes airing each Friday.
