Silo takes a breath in a slow-moving outing

After two great installments, Silo hits a wall halfway through season two. “Descent” isn’t a terrible 50 minutes by any means, but it’s merely passable. It has a couple of saving graces in the form of Rebecca Ferguson and Steve Zahn’s interactions (repetitive as they may be) and Sheriff Paul Billings (Chinaza Uche) getting prominence. I appreciate the show finally giving him his due, but these small wins come at the cost of less-than-average filler material.  

In the wake of Judge Meadows’ murder and the seeds of chaos sown by Robert Sims, the citizens are teeming with rage. A horde of them is still running amok on the steps, hoping to nab the people they believe killed Meadows (Knox and Shirley) while the real culprit, Mayor Bernard, continues to push his Machiavellian agenda. It’s all so predictable that there’s nothing new to unpack. The biggest query I had by the end was: How many steps exist between each floor? Every time the camera zooms out to reveal the bunker, it doesn’t feel like there are as many stairs to justify how long people say they take to get up and down. 

Okay, I kid. Here’s the real question I had from “Descent”: How long does the show plan to keep Juliette in Silo 17? The pacing of her arc is getting monotonous, and I fear she won’t get out until the finale. For now, all she’s done is walk around the isolated bunker trying to gather resources to go back and keep her new pal Solo calm. It’s a testament to Ferguson’s stirring expressions that Juliette’s dilemmas feel palpable because, otherwise, this just wouldn’t work. She is very much the glue that holds this series together, and Ferguson’s absence from the main action in Silo 18 is causing dissonance on an acting level.  

Juliette spends episode five in search of a helmet to salvage the original suit she tore up. In doing so, she stumbles upon a painted photo of a young Solo with his friend, Tiny. However, the man in that photo looks nothing like Steve Zahn, which makes Juliette doubt Solo’s story about who he is. When she questions him, he loses control and screams right in her face, scaring the crap out of Juliette (and me). It’s clear that this man, whether he is truly Solo or someone else, is dealing with intense PTSD and trauma that he has no idea how to overcome. Being locked up in a vault can do that to a person. And I’m impatient to see how Silo focuses on bringing him out of this instead of just letting his mania simmer.

Even Juliette tires of it. She escapes into another room partly out of fear. By some serendipity, she finds the helmet she was searching for that could just help her breathe above ground. She’s determined to head home to stop any rebellions and cleanings that can cause mass destruction. Just when there’s a ray of hope about her escape, though, she falls flat on the floor because the infection from her wound has spread. Reader, Juliette and Solo are about to spend a lot more time together in Silo 17, aren’t they? I’m all for the show taking it slow if it leads to interesting character development and scheming, à la Lost season two. Hopefully, that’s the route Silo takes with Juliette and Solo in the future. 

Meanwhile, Shirley and Knox are still on the run from the mob when they get unexpected help. Camille Sims (Alexandria Riley) decides to defy her husband—who has just been sworn in as the new Judge—and tries to get the Mechanical duo to safety. She’s nervous about how miserably Robert might treat Knox and Shirley if he catches them. It’s a slightly random turn for Camille, and Silo would’ve benefitted from giving us some backstory about their relationship. We do learn now that Camille used to work for Robert but now, she’s given up that life to be a mother—or as she puts it, a “vessel to deliver children,” per The Pact. What in the name of hardcore right-wing manifesto? Perhaps it explains why Camille wants more than to just be a subdued wife. It’s too bad Mayor Bernard finds out about her treachery because he’s not a forgiving man. If he can poison the woman he loved in cold blood, things aren’t looking good for Robert Sims’ spouse.  

As for Billings and his deputy, Hank (Billy Postlethwaite), they are certain Shirley and Knox are being set up. Let’s cheer for at least two men in charge who have an iota of common sense. To prove their innocence, they hunt down Patrick Kennedy (Rick Gomez). (To refresh your memory: Patrick is the man Robert beat up, bribing him to incite violence at a protest in support of Juliette.) Billings and Hank find the dude bleeding in a dark tunnel all by himself. After initially refusing to confess, he agrees to trust Paul and comes clean about all the shit he knows regarding The Pact, Bernard, Robert, and every other leader who’s a liar. It’s official: Sheriff Billings is about to become anti-establishment. 

The timing couldn’t be better because Mayor Bernard is about to get more powerful. He frees Lukas (Avi Nash) from his five-year sentence at the mines by pretending to “save him,” telling him that the life expectancy down there is around—you guessed it—five years. True or not, Lukas is grateful enough that he works on the hard drive Juliette stole. Worse, he reveals its contents to Bernard. It contains a map of different silos with slightly different designs and, more importantly, a love letter written by Salvador Quinn to his wife. 

If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Salvador was the IT department head 140 years ago when the last brutal rebellion occurred in Silo 18. This handwritten note also contains a code—and just hearing about it makes Bernard shudder. It’s also possibly the code that Mary Meadows deciphered but wisely refused to share with the Mayor. And now, with Lukas in his pocket, Bernard is one step closer to finding out what it means. 

Stray observations 

• • I can’t wait for the puzzle pieces to fit for whatever Silo is planning with Pete Nichols (Iain Glen). In “Descent,” he chastises Bernard when asked by the Mayor to be on the silo’s side. He’s one of the few doctors, so they can’t get rid of him. But Pete’s mini-rebellion must lead somewhere, right?
• • How dare the episode reveal that Harriet Walter’s Martha Walker is probably into women but not expand on it or give us more to dwell on? 
• • For those keeping track, Silo 17’s lower floors are flooded because Judicial wanted to shut down Mechanical. The water levels are slowly rising and are expected to reach the IT floors—where Solo lives—in 10 to 13 months. The only way he can stop is by using some pumps, but Juliette refuses to help because she’s in a rush to go back. 
• • The award for Silo’s underrated intriguing character goes to Lukas. I’m happy he’s back on the floor, even if he’s working for Bernard because he’s one smart cookie and might eventually help Juliette (who he has a crush on).