This article contains spoilers for Silo on Apple TV+.
Well, that is how you deliver an adrenaline-fueled finale, providing answers and a tantalizing cliffhanger. It is a delicate balance that Silo achieves for the second season in a row. The climatic moments of Season 1 showed Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) walking out into a barren wasteland—not the lush green vista displayed on her helmet screen—and the engineer and former sheriff quickly discovered that her underground community was far from alone. Juliette returns to the outside world again this time, but it doesn’t end there. Instead, a triple whammy in the final 10 minutes includes an existential threat, a potential major character death, and a glimpse at a world before living underground. While some of the season has progressed at a slower pace, “Into the Fire” doesn’t hold everything back for the climax, and the whole hour is Silo at its best, mixing heartfelt interactions with high-stakes scenarios.
Silo Season 2 Ending Explained
It is conceivable that “Into the Fire” could’ve cut to black after Juliette’s conversation with a now-nihilistic Bernard and the subsequent life-or-death cliffhanger. That still would’ve been a solid way to end the season. Thankfully, Silo doesn’t settle for satisfactory. An enticing flashback to a Washington D.C. resembling our current landscape (with a radioactive twist) gives insight into what led humankind to survive below ground for apparently the last 352 years (Bernard mentions this as the number of years humans have lived in silos, and I don’t know if I can trust him or his sources).
Let’s unpack Juliette finally making it back to Silo 18 in a full circle moment after she first left at the end of Season 1. Ferguson’s character has spent the majority of the 10 episodes of Season 2 opposite Steve Zahn’s sole survivor, Solo, in neighboring Silo 17. Of course, he isn’t actually the only person inhabiting this now-dilapidated structure, and his name isn’t even Solo. Early on, I guessed that Solo’s childlike behavior pointed to him being alone since a young age, which is finally confirmed in the penultimate episode. Solo is actually Jimmy, and the finale uncovers his parents’ integral role in saving thousands of lives (even if almost everyone would later perish). Opposite the hardened Juliette, Zahn’s Jimmy offers sweet naivety and even some much-needed whimsy. Juliette’s edges soften further when Jimmy’s life is threatened by a young family led by young mom Audrey (Georgina Sadler) trying to gain access to the vault Jimmy is protecting. By the end of the penultimate episode, Jimmy opens up the vault to all, but this still doesn’t completely quell Audrey’s rage.
“Be angry at the motherfuckers who built this place and put us in it!” is Juliette’s sage advice in the finale. Pointing the finger of blame at each other is futile. Because Juliette has zero time to deal with anyone’s BS (petty or serious), the finale delivers a speedy resolution to Audrey’s incessant complaining. Juliette’s lecture taps into Jack Shephard’s mantra of “live together, die alone” on Lost, and telling Audrey, “Be angry with each other, not at each other,” does the trick. Maybe stitch that advice on a few cushions, as bumper stickers have no place in this car-less world. Of course, they can’t yell at the architects of the 51 subterranean structures built 352 years ago, but there is a chance we just met one in the flashback.
Before Juliette leaves her temporary home, she voices her fears that the “people I love might be killing each other.” Little does she know that her father has already laid down his life to save others. Inside Silo 18, it is chaos, but the moment Juliette appears on the horizon, the fighting stops, and the cheer that erupts when she starts to clean is electric. Emotions are already running high, and hearing the cry of “Juliette Lives!” now they know this sentiment matches reality is a stirring moment. The cloth the former sheriff uses to clean also bears a vital message: “not safe do not come out.” Juliette never minces words.
Just because Juliette has beat the odds doesn’t mean she has it easy, as she now contends with a despondent Bernard pointing a gun at her in the tunnel into the silo. Juliette radiates with impatience and annoyance at yet another obstacle blocking her path. Bernard is very ‘wah wah poor me,’ telling Juliette there is no point in trying to save the people of Silo 18 because it has never been in their hands. It is impossible not to read Bernard’s complaints as anything but self-pity because he justified his crimes for the greater good. His petulance is a reaction to being manipulated. Until now, he thought he knew all the answers but is equally in the dark about why an Algorithm has been programmed to poison the 10,000 inhabitants if word of the AI’s existence is shared. Robbins makes the mayor sound sniveling and small even as he towers over Ferguson’s Juliette.
When the door started shutting on Juliette and Bernard, potentially leaving them stranded in the tunnel to the outside world, Juliette instinctively jumped into the small room. “You can’t go in there! You’ll burn to death,” Bernard yells. Bernard tries to yank Juliette out, but the door closes before he can. The fire that cleanses this space (which we saw in the pilot) ignites, which is not great for Juliette or Bernard. Juliette dies? But this is not the end of the episode.
It’s on the heels of Juliette’s apparent death, that the flashback begins. Cutting from Juliette and Bernard’s perilous conditions to rain in a pre-dystopia Washington D.C. is incredibly disorientating because everything looks different from the environment we have spent two seasons experiencing. It takes a few beats to adjust to the familiar symbols of our present-day or the not-too-distant future—there are no wacky clothes or technology to suggest it isn’t 2025. One major difference is that patrons are scanned for radiation before they can enter a bar, which is part of the norm. An unnamed congressman (played by Ashley Zukerman) thinks he is going on a first date but quickly learns that Helen (Jessica Henwick) is gathering information for a story she is working on for The Washington Post.
We then see a dirty bomb detonated in the nation’s capital that is blamed on Iran, but Helen thinks a bigger conspiracy is at play and wants to know what caused this catastrophic event if there wasn’t a radiological attack. Now, that is an exposé I want to read.
A couple of other pertinent facts indicate the congressman could be one of the Founders—or at least helped build the silos. He is from Georgia (the tourism guide relic is about this state), has a master’s in engineering, and served in the Army Corps of Engineers. It might be tenuous, but does being an engineer run in the family? Is this Congressman Nichols? Not revealing his name suggests we will recognize a connection, and while an ancestor link might be a stretch, there is a direct nod between the convenience store-bought gift the politician gives Helen and an item in Silo 18. Helen finds it a curious choice, but the duck Pez is an icebreaker—even if he gives it to the reporter when departing. Notably, this is another relic from Season 1 that opened a can of worms, and seeing it in its original context is equally intriguing and mind-blowing.
Are Juliette and Bernard Dead?
One reason it took Juliette so long to get back to the silo is she didn’t have anything to wear! Okay, this isn’t a fashion concern but a practical one—though Juliette is rocking her limited wardrobe. When she returns, Juliette is wearing a firefighter suit from Silo 17, as her original standard issue is no longer usable, and the replacement from Jimmy is equally damaged. This likely saved her life, as the material will be fire retardant. Bernad probably isn’t so lucky, and it doesn’t help that the best doctor in the silo (Juliette’s dad) is also dead. But why did the door start to shut? It can’t be a coincidence that it begins to close after Juliette says she has “figured something out” about the “Safety Procedure.” The Algorithm likely heard this comment and is taking measures to protect its failsafe. But Juliette has beaten the odds before and will likely do so again.
What is the Algorithm?
After solving Salvador Quinn’s (who was the head of I.T. and helped suppress the rebellion 140 years ago) message, Lukas converses with the Algorithm at the door in the depths of the silo at the end of the penultimate episode. The Algorithm warns that if he tells anyone about what he saw or heard, the disembodied voice (aka the Algorithm) “will have no choice but to initiate the Safeguard.” Quinn understood that the founders haven’t been entirely truthful, and Lukas has learned the same. The Algorithm appears to be an AI-voiced machine that has ultimate control over the lives (and deaths) of everyone in the silo. In fact, no one has referred to this entity as the Algorithm out loud yet, but this is the name given in the Apple TV+ closed captions. While we have the answers about what the safeguard does, many questions remain. One of the biggest mysteries going forward centers on the Algorithm’s true purpose, exactly who programmed it, and whether anyone else in the other silos knows the inner workings of this machine.
How Can They Stop the “Safeguard Procedure?”
If a safeguard is meant to protect, then the Safeguard Procedure takes this to an extreme and has little regard for human life. Thanks to her time with Jimmy, Juliette knows where the pipe is that can pump in enough poison to kill everyone. If anyone can challenge the Algorithm that controls the means to wipe out the world, it is Juliette and the Mechanical team. First, Juliet will have to get into the silo and make sure the Safeguard Procedure isn’t implemented. If this season was about toppling Bernard and finding out the truth, then Season 3 could be about dismantling an even more insidious system. While Bernard says he doesn’t care why the Founders created this failsafe,I know I am not alone in wanting to know the motives behind this choice.
Will Juliette Return to Silo 17?
Jimmy asks Juliette to come back to Silo 17, and Juliette smartly doesn’t make a promise beyond telling Jimmy, “Nothing’s gonna stop me from trying.” Given how much Jimmy and Juliette bonded—culminating in Jimmy embracing his new friend—it would be fantastic to see Zahn as Jimmy return in Season 3 as Juliette’s new friend. Considering Jimmy’s parents already solved this deadly mystery, it doesn’t stretch logic that Juliette will have to return to Silo 17 to gather more intel on stopping the “Safeguard Procedure.”
Who Is in Charge Now?
With Bernard presumed dead, a new mayor is needed. Even if he survives, Bernard has eroded all trust and should be in jail for his crimes (including killing Judge Meadows earlier this season). Mechanical has managed to literally divide the silo by blowing up the stairs between levels 90 and 92 (RIP Dr. Nicholls, who sacrificed his life for the cause). While the rebellion has been quelled, a new leader must be anointed. Juliette is the obvious choice, even if she doesn’t want the role. Camille Sims (Alexandria Riley) is currently holed up in the vault, and her husband, Robert Sims (Common), is Bernard’s “shadow” and will likely see himself as the natural successor. The Sims are a formidable couple and surprised us this season by helping the rebels, but a taste of the vault and being at the beck and call of the Algorithm will change the landscape. Round two of Juliette vs. Robert Sim is incoming, and I foresee Silo 18 will still be divided, with actual facts and knowledge being a powerful commodity in this fight for survival.
Will We See More From the Past?
Of course, there is much more to tell about the dirty bomb in the past and the potential conspiracy. Ending the season with this revelation suggests we will see more of the congressman representing Georgia’s 15th district and Washington Post journalist Helen—especially as both actors are recognizable from projects including Succession and Glass Onion. One of Silo’s strengths is how it plays with time, refusing to date when events take place with a handy screen graphic and instead letting us solve the puzzle. From the pilot that acted as a prologue to the Season 2 premiere opening with the rebellion in Silo 17, Yost likes to keep the audience on its toes. There is plenty of opportunity to reveal flashbacks of the early days of the silos (including the conception and construction), and the challenge for the writers will be to balance the present-day struggles with everything that led to this point. The finale proves that this community is desperate to discover the truth behind their living conditions, and drip-feeding a few revelations makes us hungry for more.
