Silo Season 2 Episode 9 - The Safeguard

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Warning! Spoilers ahead! I have not read the book series this show is based on, so this is a highly speculative review and summary


Wow! What a great episode! Not because of all the whizbang special effects, neat-o action or appeals to the latest cultural trends. It was just good story telling as we see the much neglected Juliette Nichols languishing for the whole season in silo17, among the dark, the cold and unknown characters uniting others as she did when arriving at the "up top" in season 1. We learn the mystery of Silo17, how events have been unfolding since Jules's arrival and the explanation behind the awkward, distant camera angles. We learn about the few survivors that remain and how they get by and how they view Solo. We also get a wonderful story on Solo's past without the extensive use of flashbacks but with story telling through the pieced together perspective of a young child.

The episode is a non-stop reveal fest as questions from this season are answered and ends with going back and answering a question about the tunnel from season one. Of course there is intrigue and scheming going on as we see mechanical and Bernard try to plan against each other. With Bernard watching Walker the whole time, it is heartbreaking to see her betray her friends and family as she reverts back to being a hermit. Knox and Shirley sort of fumble around leading the rebellion and Sheriff Billings and his wife question the fabric of the Silo reality as they have been pushed to the side of Mechanical. Meanwhile Bernard spreads false information about Sheriff Billings and instigates him as a ringleader.

Lukas continues on his quest of knowledge, further deciphering Salvador Quinn's code which leads him to the tunnel and the show ends on a cliffhanger as a voice mentions a directive and a safeguard.

Rob and Camille Sims with the relic
Rick and Audrey
Solo opening the Vault
Knox and Shirley
Chain from Ricks mom
Silo17 Sheriff and Russell
Bernard exercises control
An injured Solo
Lukas and Shirley near the tunnel
A distraught Walker
Solo's Gunshot Wound
Lukas's Leap of Faith
IMDB Ratings
The best rated and seemingly most popular episode yet, some proclaim it the best of both seasons yet!

Who are the people spying or watching Jules and Solo this whole time?

Who are the people spying or watching Jules and Solo this whole time?
Rick, Audrey, their son, a baby and Eater who is not biologically related, they blame Solo for the death of their parents, which isn't wholly untrue however there is more to the story as they attacked Solo to gain access to the vault and its food.

Chase and Tess are the parents of Rick and Audrey.
Audrey
Rick
Benny
Eater

Who is Solo really?

Apparently it is Jimmy Conroy, a 12 year old boy during the rebellion who witnessed his father Russell Conrad murdered by the leader of the Rebellion. As a result he undergoes intense emotional and psychological trauma which causes him to disassociate himself from his true identity and believe he was the IT shadow meant to protect the Silo, rather than the helpless young boy who could not stop his father from being murdered.
Jimmy Conroy
Young Jimmy Conroy
Giggling Solo
Giddy Solo

What is the tunnel?

The tunnel was referenced via Silo blueprints since early in season 1 and now the mystery is revealed as Lukas makes his way through the water and into the tunnel. Of course a new mystery arrives as we are note quite sure what the directive that Lukas, Salvador Quinn and Mary Meadows before him had heard. The voice at the tunnel mentions that George Wilkins had made it there but was not given information on the directive. The voice also mentions that if Lukas mentions the conversation to anyone then the Safeguard will be activated.
The Tunnel

What is the Safeguard?

Book readers will know this answer but since I did purposefully not read the books, my theory is that the Safeguard is a mechanism to auto-open the doors to the outside world, letting in the poisonous air and thereby killing everyone inside. The idea is then that the head of IT who has his suit can safely make it back to IT (the vault) for further instruction. Of course, it begs the question, what is the big secret that would require such a safeguard?
Decoded note
Rest of decoded note
Lukas receiving the directive

Wonderful reveals from the vault

Chocolate Ice cream, music (the monster mash), the board in the vault has a fourier transform on it, is Solo self learning advanced calculus and differential equations?

Sailboat models, images of the outside world, drum sets and a sewing machine of sorts.
Scientific wonders inside the vault
Art and more science!
Sketches, drawings, journals
Chocolate Ice Cream

The Deepening relationship between Jules and Solo

A big reveal earlier in the season is that the head of IT gets his own suit so that if the silo doors were opened he can make it safely back to the vault. Russell had a suit in his room that Jules could have used to escape. As Jules saves Solo and gets everyone to be chummy, Solo realizes that she knew about the other suit but chose to remain to save him.
Solo and Jules bonding
Jules accepting Solo

Miscellaneous Trivia

There are fifty one silos, not fifty

The song played in this episode is the classic monster mash from the 1960s.

Lukas had been out of the mines for a while and neglected to visit his mom except only to ask her for a favor this whole time.

Advanced Calculus in Silo
Lukas's Mom

Unanswered questions

  • Who is Salvador Quinn and what is the significance of his letter? He was the head of IT 140 years ago and his letter details a tunnel that must be found, apparently only two people who deciphered his letter, Mary Meadows and now Lukas Kyle.
  • The display showing the illusionary perfect world died as Jules walked a certain distance but Bernard was still able to see what she saw. How come? The assumption was the wifi signal was too weak. It could be the video as made for the display simply did not take into account a person would go that far and past the simulation.
  • How long has Silo17 been dead? probably about 25-30 years ago, as a rough estimate Jimmy Conroy was 12 when the rebellion happened, he appears to be around 40.
  • Did someone cut the rope from Episode 1? If so, it likely wasn't Solo, he could barely walk across the platform. Who was it? It was Audrey.
  • Dr. Nichols will likely be caught, since he is being watched so closely. What purpose does this serve for the plot? He seems to be in a dont care or under the radar point of view at the moment.
  • Who is part of the ring of people that hacks the Silo's security network? It appears its just a large amount of normal citizenry that are intentionally breaking the cameras.
  • Who was helping Jules escape by turning off the cameras at key opportune moments?
  • What is the syndrome?
  • What is the Safeguard and the directive?
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Silo Season 2 Episode 8 - The Book of Quinn

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Saturday, 18 January 2025