Warning, show spoilers ahead!
The cliffhanger from episode 2 is quickly resolved as Jules Nichols is able to pull herself up from the rope and later deals with the emotional trauma by drinking until she passes out. We are quickly plunged into the next crises, which is the generator malfunction. This is the central plot for most of the episode while pieces of character and plot development are revealed. The mayor Ruth Jahns is searching for a new Sheriff to run the Silo, after the last one chose to leave the safe confines of the Silo and presumably end his life.
She along with the, becoming more and more lovable Deputy Marnes hike down to the engineering level to talk to "Holston's pick," to gauge if she'd be worth of being Sheriff. Before meeting her, she meets with IT director Bernard on the lower level as well as Dr. Pete Nichols, her father. We learn more about Jules Nichols's past as well as the strained relationship with her father and her natural aptitude for machines at a young age. While IT Director Bernard makes his dislike for her clear due to her stealing some computer tape in the past. Paul Billings is the other popular candidate, who "according to the numbers" would be good enough.
To me, the show draws a lot of parallels to the 2004 release of Battlestar Galactica, human survival, a tortured rebel female lead, Jules is similar to Starbuck in her personality and rebelliousness. Perhaps there is a certain draw in this genre of that type of character as it is quickly becoming the stereotypical archetype. Jules has a good amount of emotional trauma to deal with, with the supposed suicide of the person she loved as well as a feeling of betrayal from Sheriff Holston. The latter of whom promised but never delivered a sign or signal to her before choosing to leave the Silo. So she is surprised when she learns he picked her to be his successor. Vindication and validation comes for her when she sees the word "Truth" inscribed on the back of the badge that he leaves to her post-mortem. Is is this that convinces Jules to take the job.
The remainder of the show revolves around the repair of the generator, lest the Silo will live in darkness forever. A suspension of disbelief is required as the scientific explanation, while good does not account for many engineering flaws as described. For example, the generator is powered by a mysterious source of steam that is very dangerous but has no backup safety exhaust. The solution to an overheating door is to blast it with water without regard as to the scalding steam that would occur to the person holding the fire hose, in this case, our protagonist Jules.
The plot advancing moments are sprinkled throughout.
- First, with the powering off of the generators, the cameras in the cafeteria room for a split second show an outside that is lush with green vegetarian rather than the deserted wasteland they are used to seeing.
- Jules gives Martha a "relic" which appears to be a 1980s era video camera which likely will provide for some video that further advances the plot later in the series.
- The show ends in a cliffhanger with Mayor Jahns hemorrhaging on the bathroom floor.
All in all an OK episode, I was a little bored by the generator scene, sure it had an exciting action scene sequence, but I wanted more plot. However that is not the show's fault, it is slowly advancing things, and that I want more, more and more is a sign that it is a good story.
Since the show has come out, it has been popular with a growing fan base. the ratings have been around 85% or higher at Rotten Tomatoes.
The top discussion at the moment is Mayor Jahns's probable death is politically motivated around her choice of Jules as the new Sheriff as well as what the outside actually is. Or alternatively, if the camera scenes of a lush green world are real or also fabricated to encourage people to clean the camera lens.
Review of other episodes:
Episode 1 and 2 - Freedom's Day and Holston's Pick
Episode 3 - Machines
Episode 4 - Truth
Episode 5 - The Janitor's Boy
Episode 6 - The Relic
Episode 7 - The Flamekeepers
Episode 8 - Hanna
Episode 9 - The Getaway
Episode 10 - Outside