Avid fans of Apple TV+’s dystopian sci-fi series, “Silo,” have been hungering for answers as the survivors in Silo 18 braced for a rebellion amid myriad mounting mysteries while the addictive narrative winds down to a startling conclusion Jan. 17.
We can emphatically report that this ninth and penultimate episode of the sophomore season, “The Safeguard,” is a rich banquet of revelations that will substantially up the stakes for our characters and shake many of your beliefs regarding the true nature of this post-apocalyptic reality.
That’s perhaps an opaque declaration, but perfectly appropriate for this “mystery box” show created by ace Hollywood veteran Graham Yost (“Speed,” “Justified”).
There’s a lot to digest in this extra-long chapter so let’s loosen our belts and dive into Salvador Quinn’s letter that’s now been fully decoded. The translation allows Lukas Kyle to realize that silo life is all a rigged game and that he should “go to the very bottom of the silo. Find the tunnel. You will get confirmation there.”
Sharp memories will recall that this forgotten area of the silo is where Juliette would go to hook up with her boyfriend George Wilkins before his demise. She had actually dropped down there on a rope once but didn’t know that the water was only knee-deep. Now Lukas is at the very spot where the groundwater pumps exist and he takes a leap of faith and plops into the water to discover that he can stand.
From here he ventures further into a tunnel which ends in a circular vault door. Suddenly, a booming AI voice erupts like the Wizard of Oz. “Lukas Kyle, why are you here?” The AI tells him that only three people have ever made it that far: Salvador Quinn; Mary Meadows; and George Wilkins. It also warns that if he tells anyone about what he’s about to hear, “The Safeguard” will be initiated.
While that might sound comforting, we have a sneaking suspicion that it’s some sort of genocidal failsafe device engineered by The Founders. We never hear what info the AI imparts to him but whatever it is, it’s bound to be a dark truth that will rattle the silo to its core if ever leaked out.
Earlier in the episode when Lukas brings the letter to Bernard, he learns there are not 50 silos, but 51, with that extra silo acting as a central control hub monitoring the happenings in each silo and taking lethal precautions in the event of dire emergencies. Who or what is inside that flagship silo is yet to be revealed and we will likely wait until season 3 to find out.
It’s important to remember that other than the IT Head and their shadows, silo citizens don’t know about the other network bunkers and think that they’re the last remnants of humanity protected from an external hellscape where nothing can live. Also vital to recall is Solo telling Juliette that Silo 17’s rebels survived outside until a “cloud came back,” which could be part of The Safeguard protocols triggered that killed them all.
Over in Silo 17, fans are treated to a full reveal of the three teens that attacked Solo and Juliette. They’re Audrey, Rick, and Eater, the offspring of survivors of the initial rebellion who never went outside. Audrey and Rick also have two children together, one of whom is an infant. It was their parents Solo possibly killed. This is why they kidnapped him and were trying to extract the vault code for food. But as it’s brought to light, Solo was actually the victim in all these happenings. As a kid, Solo watched the Sheriff shoot his IT Head father, Russell Conroy, after locking himself in the vault on his dad’s instructions to protect him.
Audrey’s and Rick’s folks were trying to get into the vault to gather food. The truth is that Solo, aka Jimmy Conroy, was shot years ago by those two adult intruders as he slept, then suffocated the attackers by trapping them in a room inside the vault while they pilfered food. These are the two corpses left outside the vault door. Scrawled numbers on the classroom blackboards that we believed were from Solo, were really them trying to guess the vault’s numerical code.
As all this is being unraveled, there’s a sublime emotional moment when Solo lays a hand on Juliette’s shoulder after he realizes she didn’t bolt from the silo after recovering her survival suit because she cared about his fate. It’s a beautifully acted scene that serves as yet another reminder of why this series is so revered. Solo understands that his mission to secure the vault is finally over and allows the teens and the two children access to the vault’s food supply, along with the wonders of The Legacy and all its collections of music, art, toys, and artifacts.
In Silo 18, Knox visits Walker to tell her of a new plan to use the remaining gunpowder, as sneaky Bernard watches and listens to the conversation from a hidden camera that Walker activated. It seems that Knox knows she’s the informant who ruined the supply room heist and he’s trying to flush her out, pretending to believe that Teddy’s mom is the snitch. Or is this all just a clever ruse?
Elsewhere, Billings and his spouse, Kathleen, are slowly becoming obsessed with knowing the truth about the outside world, as is Sims and his wife, Camille, who have now all seen the torn-out book page of a lush mountain scene. Sims wants immediate answers and vows to somehow snag Bernard’s Silo 18 key to the vault.
So what is this mystery silo and are there overlords living inside it? Where do tunnels at the silo bottoms lead? What is The Safeguard and is this omniscient AI called The Algorithm reinforcing the rules of the silos? Will Lukas spill the beans about what he learns? And will Juliette head back over the hill before all hell breaks loose in Silo 18?
The end (and hopefully more answers) is nigh!