As a long-time fan of mystery box shows like Lost and now Silo, I must say that the season two premiere, “The Engineer,” left me with a mix of anticipation and a tinge of apprehension. The episode was a visual feast, with the marvelous set design of the ruined other silo stealing the show whenever it appeared on screen. The action was taut, tense, and easy to follow as Juliette navigated through the treacherous corridors, surviving several potentially fatal setbacks.
Approximately two decades ago, the inaugural season of Lost concluded with an intriguing, captivating scene from early 21st-century television: a group of plane crash survivors standing on an undiscovered island, gazing into a deep pit in the ground that was clearly excavated by someone. The audience wasn’t informed until the second season premiere that there was a character named Desmond living in that pit, spending his time listening to old pop tunes. It wasn’t until the end of the second season that viewers discovered Desmond had once been a castaway himself, compelled by circumstances to join a remnant of a cult aiming to save the world.
The inaugural season of Silo concluded with great fanfare. Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson), a proficient mechanic who, under peculiar circumstances, had assumed the role of the chief law enforcer within a colossal, post-apocalyptic subterranean complex, was banished by her political adversaries and sent to the surface. There, people typically succumb to the contaminated air within moments; however, due to an exceptionally robust spacesuit, Juliette continued her journey out of the crater housing the silo and into a vast open field. In this field, she discovered a dozen or so other craters, each containing its own silo.
In the opening episode of season two, Juliette ventures into one of the silos where she encounters a lone man, much like Desmond from “Lost”. This man is also found listening to old-time pop tunes, and just as Desmond did, he welcomes her with a warning that she might not leave alive.
I’d like to stress that Silo is distinct from Lost in many aspects. It’s more thought-provoking and has a tighter focus, steering clear of the epic and pulpy elements common in shows like Lost. Silo is based on Hugh Howey’s series of novels, novellas, and short stories, which depict a civilization confined within a silo for generations, with most inhabitants unaware of the world outside. The first season of Silo primarily aimed at familiarizing viewers with this society by having Juliette embark on a new job and investigate murders, thus unveiling the various layers and classes within the silo.
The second season is set to delve deeper into the narrative, as Juliette might uncover reasons behind her silo’s isolation from others and its potential deviation from its initial purpose. In the previous season, we found out that Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins) from Juliette’s silo possessed some knowledge about the program’s past and thought it was his job to keep this information hidden to prevent the residents from revolting due to restlessness. However, since Juliette doesn’t feel bound by this secrecy, she might serve as our guide once more, unraveling mysteries about the world of the silos for us.
I’d be thrilled if more instances similar to those in Silo’s captivating first season were to unfold, where characters like Juliette or others chanced upon artifacts, known as “relics,” from Earth’s far-off past. To these people, these relics appeared almost incomprehensibly exotic. Among all the discovered relics, the most awe-inspiring was a children’s book detailing attractions one might visit in the U.S. state of Georgia. Activities such as rafting trips, aquariums, and planetariums seemed like science fiction to someone who had only ever dwelled within a colossal concrete tube.
For those familiar with Howey’s books, these silos have distinct numbers, but since the TV series hasn’t covered this concept yet, we’ll refer to the two we’ve seen as “Juliette’s silo” and “the one we’ve not encountered.” The season opener starts with a flashback showing what befell “the other silo,” which was filled with decaying bodies and wreckage upon Juliette’s arrival. Over an extended sequence, we witness the internal conflict within the other silo’s inhabitants after they demolished the network of staircases and bridges that once connected their levels. Eventually, a group decided to open the airlock, leading to their demise outside.
In order to gain entry, Juliette must navigate through a crowd, reaching an establishment that, at some point, bore a resemblance to her own before the societal downfall. One of the large screens in a common area – which in Juliette’s silo serves as a means for residents to monitor the devastated landscape outside – is now malfunctioning and displays “LIES” in bold letters. To transition from one area to another, Juliette strategizes and enacts actions similar to those seen in escape rooms or video games. She must improvise using whatever is at hand – barrels, metal debris, rubble – to construct miniature pathways and move them accordingly.
All of the sequences showing Juliette doing her best Indiana Jones impression — improvising and exploring — are truly terrific. This whole silo is a relic, and the trip through it gives the same charge that the season-one scenes involving relics did. The veteran prestige-TV drama director Michael Dinner (who had previously worked with Silo creator Graham Yost on Justified) and the show’s crew keep the action taut, tense, and easy to follow as Juliette survives several potentially fatal setbacks and just keeps going. The other silo is a marvelous piece of set design — visually familiar via Juliette’s silo, yet in ruins. Whenever this episode returns to her perilous journey, it’s a knockout.
Surprisingly, there’s more to “The Engineer” than meets the eye. Approximately one-third of this episode delves into Juliette’s past, specifically her upbringing within the silo under the care of Dr. Pete Nichols, a well-off obstetrician (Iain Glen). Instead of enjoying a cushy life, she chose to apprentice with Martha Walker, the master mechanic (Harriet Walter). The older workers in her department subjected her to tough labor and showed little compassion – yet, she admired them even more because of it.
These scenes are quite impactful, carrying a certain emotional depth at times. The scene where the young character Juliette (portrayed by Amelie Child-Villiers), mends a mechanical toy dog, holds several meanings: it serves as a nostalgic glance at the childhood she relinquished following her mother’s demise, it symbolizes her unyielding determination to chase her desires despite opposition, and it showcases her knack for problem-solving. There are indeed parallels between these instances and the mature Juliette we encounter in the other silo.
The primary issue with the first season of Silo is that after its captivating and largely standalone opening episode, the narrative began to lose momentum and meander through the remaining nine episodes. Although season one features numerous instances of genuine awe and dramatic surprises, culminating in a chilling final scene, it could have benefited from being more concise. Indeed, there are indications that the season-two premiere may also struggle with a dispersed focus.
To put it simply, the final scene of this episode is quite captivating. Earlier, we learned that Juliette encounters an individual in the other silo – a man named Steve Zahn who remains largely unseen, but he’s crucial to the storyline. He entices Juliette with the melodious tune “Moon River” and leads her towards his secluded chambers. However, there’s a catch: if she tries to open his door, it would mean her demise.
But he also says something that reminded me again of the best of Lost — and the best of Silo so far. He explains that he gets why she might want to open his door because “You see a closed door … what’s on the other side?” It’s good when a mystery box show like this understands human nature. Keep showing us new doors, absolutely. But don’t keep them closed for too long.
The Down Deep
Although I’m not entirely convinced about the necessity of the prolonged flashback detailing Juliette’s past as a mechanic, there are some appealing instances in these sequences that delve deeper into the contrasting lifestyles between the mid-level and deep-level parts of the silo. For instance, Walker clarifies to Juliette that people from lower levels prefer bluntness over bureaucratic jargon. (“If a pump isn’t functioning, we don’t say it ‘might not be operating at its projected capacity,’ we simply say, ‘It’s broken.'”)
• Another fun piece of graffiti in the other silo: a wall-size propaganda poster reading “THANK YOU FOUNDERS” with the “thank” crossed out and replaced with “fuck.” It sure seems like these folks were pretty pissed about the conditions in their silo! I look forward to finding out why.
Kick off with the second season of “Silo” coverage! The first season had its ups and downs, but overall it was engaging enough to keep us guessing. Here’s hoping for ten consecutive weeks filled with fresh mysteries, exciting revelations, and let’s not forget Steve Zahn! So, don’t go anywhere.
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2024-11-15 18:55