Silo season 2 review

Last Updated on November 4, 2024

Plot: Silo is the story of the last ten thousand people on earth, their mile-deep home protecting them from the toxic and deadly world outside. However, no one knows when or why the silo was built and those who try to find out face fatal consequences. Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette, an engineer who seeks answers about a loved one’s murder and tumbles onto a mystery that goes far deeper than she could have ever imagined, leading her to discover that if the lies don’t kill you, the truth will.

Review: Last year, Apple TV+ debuted the first season of their ambitious dystopian series Silo, based on the novels by Hugh Howey. Contained to an underground silo where classes are separated by levels distinguishing leadership from the working class, Silo‘s first season echoed the same themes as the similar series Snowpiercer. The difference between them is that Silo‘s budgetary backing from Apple resulted in a powerfully cast drama that will only broaden in scope and ambition in subsequent seasons. The sophomore season of Silo is shaping up to take all of the world-building foundations from the first run of episodes into an even more sprawling narrative arc. With the residents of the titular facility on the brink of civil war, the second season of Silo brings back Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, Common, and more, along with new characters as we begin to explore the outside world and what that means for the beliefs of those still safely below ground.

The second season of Silo opens directly following the first season finale, which found Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) banished outside to “cleaning duty.” Prepared for a death sentence, Juliette discovers the truth that there is more beyond their silo than they have all been led to believe. Making a brief trek to another structure, Juliette finds out more than she anticipated, including additional survivors of the toxic air that decimated mankind. With the denizens of her silo viewing her as a martyr, Juliette’s legacy develops into a burgeoning rebellion. This forces Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins), the elected leader of the Silo and head of the IT Department, and his head of security for Judicial, Robert Sims (Common), to cover up the truth about Juliette’s survival to protect their control over the citizen of their silo. This causes a further disruption amongst the masses as Juliette’s mentor Martha (Harriet Walter), Lukas (Avi Nash), and Juliette’s replacement as sheriff, Paul Billings (Chinaza Uche), draw new alliances amongst the uneasy populace.

While the first season was good at separating different characters from one another, notably Rashida Jones and David Oyelowo’s Allison and Holston Becker, who didn’t make it out of the first episodes, the second season of Silo keeps Juliette completely distanced for the majority of the season. Rebecca Ferguson is one of the few cast members this season who gets to interact with new characters in unfamiliar territory, including Steve Zahn’s important new character. How and what Juliette experiences in her journey this season is best left for you to discover as you watch the series, especially for those who have not read the source novels. Rest assured that it follows the books closely and gives us many answers posed in the first season. It also manages to echo some of the same narrative arcs as the first season of Prime Video’s Fallout series but without replicating twists and reveals.

What this season does improve is the intensity and maturity of the storytelling. As the first season began, I was unsure if the series would be targeted at a younger demographic, but as this season opens, it is apparent that there are no longer as many safeties built around this story. The new additions to the cast tend to skew younger, but there is an intentional use of profanity, violence, and similar subject matter to drive the bubbling rebellion. This allows the political and societal themes of the story to come to the surface more than they did in the mystery-centric first season. This gives both Tim Robbins and Common additional space to explore the idea of control and power within a confined space as they try to head off a threat to the existing regime of the Silo. While the split narrative between the original population and Juliette’s journey does slow things down, there is a stronger sense of urgency through this season that helps the entire cast find more immediacy in how this run of episodes is poised to set up what comes next.

Directed by Michael Dinner, Amber Templemore, and Aric Avelino, the second season wraps up the plot of the first book in Hugh Howey’s trilogy, Wool. The second book, Shift, is a prequel that leads directly into the third and final novel, Dust, which continues the narrative we see develop in this adaptation. By the end of the second season, showrunner Graham Yost has set up the end of the story, which will likely finish in the fourth season. Some references and hints tease what will come that only those who have read the books will catch, but it is enough to see where this tale is headed. The comparisons between the current state of world politics and what happens in this series are not blatant, nor are they invisible. The fact that dystopian stories feel prescient to our current election cycles and conflicts worldwide is scary enough on its own. Still, it is also a testament to Yost and his writing team being aware of what the source material was trying to convey while using the power of long-form storytelling to transform it into engaging television.

While the first season of Silo was a solid mystery set within a post-apocalyptic setting, season two expands the scope to a dystopian thriller full of political intrigue and escalating tensions involving rebellion and war. Silo does not hit you over the head with references to the real world, but it does not have to, as the grounded nature of this science fiction tale is eerily realistic and foreseeable. I found the expanded scope of this season to be as entertaining as it is sinisterly thrilling. Thanks to a finite endgame in sight for where this story will lead, fans can enjoy this middle chapter as the saga of Silo builds the tension to a breaking point. I expect that by the time everyone reaches this season’s finale, they will eagerly await what comes next. Packed with great turns from Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, Common, and the entire cast, this sophomore season of Silo is a solid continuation.

Silo premieres on November 15th on Apple TV+.