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Silo season 2 really has been a roller coaster as the hit Apple TV Plus sci-fi show significantly raised the stakes with its sophomore outing.
Based on author Hugh Howey's trilogy of novels, this season followed Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) as she stepped outside, exploring the world surrounding her silo. This led her to another silo, where she met intriguing stranger Solo (Steve Zahn), unravelling his secrets. Meanwhile back at home, a rebellion was starting against Mayor Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins) and those who manage the silo, with the mechanical department leading the way.
Article continues belowSilo season 2 ending explained
The last act of Silo season 2 kicks off as the rebel leaders from mechanical are captured by the raiders and are taken to a cell. However, Walker (Harriet Walter) is let go as the guards thanks her for her cooperation, a reminder that she collaborated with Holland earlier on in the season. They allow her ex-wife Carla (Claire Perkins) to go with her, but angry at Walker over the betrayal, Carla refuses.
Walker then meets with Holland who is sitting rather smugly, knowing that his raiders are at work neutralizing the bomb that is ready to blow the generator up. Things take a turn though when Walker tells him a story about the generator, explaining that it is so loud the crews in mechanical developed a secret language comprised of hand signals. Therefore when Holland's team were spying on Walker in her workshop, she was secretly signaling to her mechanical colleagues that they were being watched, which leads to them misleading him with a false plan – the generator bomb.
Although Holland receives news that his people neutralized the bomb around the generator, another explosion goes off as the rebels' real plan is revealed. Juliette's dad Pete (Iain Glen) had been asked in secret to set off a bomb on the stairs between levels 92 and 93, however losing the timer he has to detonate it manually leading to his tragic death. Before his sacrifice, he gives his watch to Hank (Billy Postlewaithe) asking him to pass it on to his daughter Juliette with a message to "keep fighting." Holland gets word of this explosion discovering that all his raiders are now trapped in the down deep. He barks orders to get everyone still free out protecting IT but is told that they are either trapped down below or are busy elsewhere.
Lukas Kyle (Avi Nash) finds Holland and begs him to listen to what he has to say, warning that if "it" hears him they will all be killed. "It" referring to the mysterious Algorithm that we met earlier on in the season. We don't hear what he says exactly, but Holland is shocked and Lukas quits immediately.
A deflated Holland then bumps into Sims (Common) on his way up the stairs and makes him his new shadow. Sims then confronts Lukas at his home, holding a gun to his head demanding he share with him what he told Holland. Lukas keeps the mystery alive simply saying that Holland made a mistake assuming everything is OK because the key to the vault is no longer lighting up – it's actually not doing that anymore "because it's over." He refuses to say anything more and tells Sims to head to the vault to the see it for himself "whilst there's still time." It's clear what he has discovered has led him to believe those who run the silos want to bring this one to an end.
Sims finds his way to the vault bringing his wife Camille (Alexandria Riley) and his son with him. He addresses the Algorithm once inside, saying that he wants to "save the silo" – the voice responds with "so do I." It then asks Sims to leave the vault with his son, adding that Camille can stay.
That's the last we see of Sims during the finale, meanwhile Holland makes his way upstairs threatening everyone to get out of his way with a gun, barricading himself inside the room that leads to the outside. An angry mob is attempting to reach him calling for his death, but the rebel leaders want answers. Paul (Chinaza Uche) finds his way to the door asking Holland to come out and tell the truth, but he is dragged away by the crowd.
However, everyone stops when they see Juliette outside approaching the silo, cleaning to a cheering crowd who chant "Juliette lives" which Holland hears. As we saw earlier on in the episode, Juliette and Jimmy/Solo discovered that the mysterious "safeguard procedure" is a pipe into the silos which can flood them with poison, killing everyone inside. Finding a map which details the location of the pipe, Juliette is even more spurred on to rush home – especially when they hear an explosion outside, which is the stairwell bomb from Juliette's silo.
They discover Jimmy's mom's old suit, but it's all torn up. Whilst a frustrated Juliette confronts the group of kids they discovered living in the silo about their treatment of "Eater," now known as Hope, Jimmy runs off. Juliette discovers him in the water testing a suit to make sure that it won't let anything in, telling her she can have this to get back home. She says farewell to him and the kids before heading outside.
Upon reaching her silo, Juliette cleans the window before showing a sign that says "not safe do not come out," which the crowd inside see. She tries to break into the silo but fails, however Holland opens it up confronting her with a gun in the corridor. Asking why she has come back, Juliette emphasizes that she wants to stop people from going out. Holland tells her he wants to go outside though to "feel free for one moment," taking the gun with him in case the pain is too much at the end.
He tells Juliette there's no point saving the people inside the silo as it's never been in their hands, referring to those who manage the silos. Juliette says she knows about the pipe that can pump poison in which shocks Holland – he reveals that he knows who can implement that safeguard but is unsure why they would, but says that he doesn't care anymore, stating that all his sacrifices never mattered as they could be killed at any point. Juliette responds with "maybe not" teasing that she has "figured something out," which clearly strikes Holland by surprise. However, they are interrupted when the door behind her starts to close with the pair getting trapped in an airlock as it sets on fire.
The show then takes quite a turn, as the next scene jumps to a rainy day in Washington DC as we see the White House in the background. A man (Ashley Zuckerman) is scanned for radioactivity upon entering a bar (the bouncer says they never get readings) where he meets a woman called Helen (Jessica Henwick). We learn that he's a congressman from Georgia and she's a journalist.
She questions him about a "dirty bomb" that had gone off, seemingly in Washington by Iran, but he tells her he thought this was a date. Helen emphasizes that the US people need to know "if there are plans to strike back against Iran, whether or not there really was a radiological attack on the US." Refusing to answer the question the unnamed man leaves but gives Helen a gift on his way out, saying he panic bought something from a store nearby as he was "bought up" to bring gifts and hadn't. She opens it up and it's the duck Pez dispenser that played such a crucial role in Silo season 1, the forbidden relic from the before times that George gave to Juliette.
Who dies in the Silo season 2 finale?
During the Silo season 2 finale, there is one key death, which is Juliette's dad Dr. Pete Nichols, beautifully played by Iain Glen. As part of the rebels' secret plan, he was put in charge of detonating the bomb on the stairs, which will leave all the raiders stuck in the down deep.
However, Pete hits a snag when he loses the timer for the bomb, meaning he has to set it off manually by connecting two wires together, placing him at the heart of the explosion resulting in his death. It's a tragic sacrifice and one that will surely echo throughout the rest of the show.
Of course, we do see Juliette and Bernard caught in a fire in the airlock at the very end, but their fates are left unknown.
What is the safeguard procedure?
During Silo season 2 there have been questions raised over what the "safeguard procedure" is, with Lukas Kyle being told by the Algorithm during episode 9 that they will implement this if he tells anyone what he discovers. So, we knew it was bad news, but not quite what it is exactly...
The finale reveals that the safeguard procedure is something the mysterious people who run the silos can use should things get out hand and they want to kill everyone inside. They can feed poison through a pipe into a silo, as Juliette and Solo/Jimmy discover. He now believes this is actually what led to the deaths of the people of his silo all those years ago.
What happens to Juliette? Does she make it back to her silo?
Juliette does indeed manage to leave the other silo and return back home. However, we don't see her fully make it inside as Holland confronts her at the entrance, with the two becoming trapped in an airlock as it sets on fire during the last minutes of the finale. Their fates left unknown for now, we will have to wait and see what happens next.
Is there a Silo season 2 post-credits scene?
While Silo season 2 doesn't have a post-credits scene, the very last one before the credits start rolling certainly feels like a coda of sorts, as we are taken to what feels like a different world.
Now, given that Silo is set completely underground against a dystopian landscape this is quite the shift and it feels safe to assume that it's a flashback to an age before the silos. But who is Helen and this mysterious man?
Well, we can look to the books for clues. In Howey's novels we meet a young congressman called Donald who, long story short, is eventually hired to become the unwitting architect of the silos. Given that Donald's wife's name is Helen, it adds up even more.
Especially since both Henwick and Zuckerman are reasonably high-profile actors, with the former appearing in the likes of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and the latter in hit show Succession. They therefore wouldn't be showing up in Silo to play two random characters, surely, meaning this currently unnamed man and journalist Helen are likely crucial to the story.
Will they reprise their roles in an upcoming season, which will presumably explore the origins of the silos? Only time will tell...
Will there be a Silo season 3?
Silo season 3 is already in the works meaning we won't have to wait long (hopefully) to find out if our theory above is correct.
And not only that, but Apple TV Plus have already announced that a fourth season is coming too although that will be the show's last. In a press release last year they revealed that will complete the story of Howey's trilogy of novels, with showrunner Graham Yost commenting that he "can’t wait to give fans of the show an incredibly satisfying conclusion to the many mysteries and unanswered questions contained within the walls of these silos."
Silo season 2 is available to stream in full on Apple TV Plus. For more, check out our guide to the best Apple TV shows you need to add to your watchlist.
