Sumith Prasad
Based on the eponymous novel series by Hugh Howey, Apple TV+’s science-fiction series ‘Silo’ revolves around the residents of a silo, who lives at the establishment to safeguard themselves from the toxic outer world. The first two episodes of the series, titled ‘Freedom Day’ and ‘Holston’s Pick’ respectively, follow the startling secrets associated with the silo, discovered by two computer geeks named George Wilkins and Allison. The repercussions of their discovery threaten their lives, affecting their loved ones severely. The second episode ends with an enthralling revelation concerning George’s discovery. If you are intrigued about the same, you are at the right place! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Silo Episode 1 and 2 Recap
‘Freedom Day’ begins with Sheriff Holston expressing his wish to go out of the silo, which is punishable at the establishment as the residents who vocally express the same are sent out to the barren and toxic outer world. In flashback scenes set a few years before Holston’s punishment, Allison got sanctioned to have a baby. Holston and Allison tried their best for the latter to conceive within a year as women are given a 365-day period before their birth control is put back into their bodies. Meanwhile, she received a computer repair request from George Wilkins.
When Allison met George, he showed her a hard drive from the time before the rebellion. Since it is a crime to possess anything that existed before the rebellion, Allison initially hesitated to help George but her curiosity eventually conquered her fears. They both went through the files on the hard drive, which include highly classified and sensitive information concerning the silo. While the residents of the silo celebrated the 140th Freedom Day to commemorate the victory over the rebels, Allison found out that the world outside the silo is lush and vibrant rather than barren and deadly. She also discovered that she still had birth control equipment inside her body.
Allison then announced her wish to go out, paving the way for her exit from the establishment. Before leaving, she told Holston that she would either clean the camera projecting the outer world if the world is lush and green as she believed or walk away from the same if it is barren. After getting out, Allison cleaned the camera, making it clear that the world is lush and green. However, she still died within a few minutes. A few years later, George was found dead. While the initial observation suggested that he killed himself, his secret partner Juliette told the authorities that he was murdered since he neither expressed any wish to die nor was he depressed with any concerns.
‘Holston’s Pick’ follows Juliette and Holston’s efforts to make sense of George’s death. Holston noticed George’s watch on Juliette, which made him perceive that they had been in an unsanctioned relationship. Juliette brought Holston to an underground pit where a giant and unmoveable machine was kept. She showed the sheriff the things George had hidden, which includes the hard drive he showed to Allison and a manual of how to recover deleted files, written by the latter. When Juliette came to know that George knew Holston’s wife, she grew suspicious of his intentions of investigating the case.
In the present day, George leaves the silo upon accepting his punishment. As he walks towards the end of the tunnel that opens to the outer world, he sees a lush and green world. He cleans the camera and walks to the hill but he gets poisoned. Holston removes his helmet to breathe properly but he eventually falls to the ground, only to die the same way his wife did.
Silo Episode 2 Ending: What Was George Looking for?
When George died mysteriously, Juliette realized that she has to find out how he died or who possibly killed him. She knows that her partner had been dealing with things that are against the rules of the silo, which makes her believe that his unforeseen death isn’t just a coincidence. She decides to dive deep into what George had been investigating to determine whether the same is connected to his death. George died right after sharing with her that he found what he was looking for. Juliette suspects that the discovery of whatever he found paved the way for his death since the killer might have wanted to silence him by murdering him.
George spent the last few days before his death trying to discover a door of a tunnel. While going through the files in the hard drive, he came across the blueprint of a tunnel, which is supposed to be located under the pit where the giant machine is hidden. However, George didn’t know where the tunnel lead to or where the opening of the same is located. In the ‘Silo’ novels, the source texts of the show, multiple silos are operational in the world, identical to the one Juliette is living in. The tunnel must be leading to one of these silos or it can even be a part of a tunnel network that interconnects the different silos.
George might have gotten killed to keep the truth about the tunnel a secret. The authorities of the silo have succeeded in operating the same more or less as a prison for centuries. They may not want George to offer the residents of the same a gateway to escape from the place and disturb the order in place at the silos. If not to another silo, the tunnel must be leading to the outer world. It may even open to another part of the outer world, where it may not be toxic.
Why Does Holston Nominate Juliette? Will She Become the New Sheriff?
When Holston leaves the silo and presumably dies, Deputy Marnes and Mayor Ruth Jahns confront the need for appointing a new sheriff. Since Holston was nominated by the previous sheriff, Jahns asks Marnes whether the former had nominated anyone. After hesitating for a while, Marnes lets her know that his former superior nominated Juliette, an engineer who doesn’t have anything to do with law and order. Holston must have nominated her upon seeing her drive and resilience to unravel the hidden truth, which is what a sheriff is expected to do in his position.
From his interactions with Juliette, Holston must have realized that the former is courageous and a fighter who is ready to unflinchingly face any challenges she confronts. He may have thought that these qualities would help her become a qualified sheriff. Furthermore, Holston decides to leave the silo upon being certain that the residents of the establishment are fed lies for a long time. He may have thought that someone who seeks truth should be his successor rather than someone who would blindly follow the instructions and rules of the places. Holston may have wanted Juliette to have the authority to make progress in her search for truth as well.
Ultimately, Holston must have wanted Juliette to find out what really happened to George. After getting parted with Allison, he knows how hard it is to lose a loved one to death. He may want Juliette to solve her partner’s murder to get the closure she needs. According to ‘Wool,’ the first novel in the ‘Silo’ series, Juliette does become a sheriff. In the show, we may see Jahns appointing her as Holston’s successor since Marnes doesn’t have any interest in becoming the sheriff as he decides to retire.
