Sumith Prasad
Apple TV+’s science-fiction series ‘Silo’ revolves around Juliette Nichols, an engineer who makes sure that the generators of the titular silo work efficiently for the survival of over ten thousand residents of the same. Juliette’s life takes an unforeseen turn when her secret partner George Wilkins is found dead at the bottom of the silo. She collaborates with Sheriff Holston Becker to find the truth about George’s death since she believes that her partner is killed. The post-apocalyptic series progresses through Juliette’s efforts to find out what really happened to George and who killed him upon becoming the sheriff of the establishment. If you are intrigued about the mystery, let us share our theories regarding the same! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Mysterious Leader Potentially Behind George’s Death
George Wilkins was a computer engineer who was heavily interested in “relics,” objects that has been existing in the silo before the rebellion took place. Since it is illegal to possess or deal with relics, George had always risked his freedom and life to dig deep into the illegal objects he could find in the establishment. His life turned around when he ended up possessing a hard drive, filled with confidential information concerning the most dangerous secrets of the silo. George’s life got threatened the moment he managed to access the contents of the hard drive with the help of Allison Becker.
Since George got killed soon after accessing the sensitive hard drive, it is evident that the killer killed the computer engineer to make sure that the secrets of the silo would never surface among the residents as truths. As far as the secrets of the silo are concerned, apparently, no one is more bothered about the same than Robert Sims, the head of security and the enforcer of laws set by Judicial. Sims is one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, individuals in the silo and he has eyes and ears everywhere in the establishment to find out that a suspicious computer engineer had a hard drive with documents that can cause a second rebellion in the silo.
George’s hard drive contains blueprints of the silo, which reveals that there’s a tunnel beneath the mine that’s located on the lower part of the establishment. It also contains video footage of the world outside, which is vibrant and lush rather than barren and uninhabitable as the officials of the silo had made the residents believe. If George had leaked the video among the residents, an unstoppable rebellion would have been born among the residents, who might have demanded freedom from the walls and rules of the silo. As the enforcer of the silo’s rules, it is Sims’ responsibility to make sure that such a rebellion never happens. Therefore, Sims most likely killed George to make sure that chaos and anarchy won’t be the new normal in the silo.
Sims must have killed George using Douglas Trumbull, who also seemingly kills Deputy Sam Marnes and Mayor Ruth Jahns when they turn against the wishes of Judicial. The fifth episode of the series almost confirms that Trumbull killed George for Sims. The head of security might have considered George’s life the cost of maintaining “order” in the silo, especially since the contents of George’s hard drive can unravel many truths Sims or Judicial for that matter had hidden from the residents of the establishment. Sims might have realized that his authority will cease to exist the moment the residents of the place turn against it and the last thing he may want to lose is the same power.
In the ‘Silo’ novel series, the source novels of the series, George is killed by Judicial. George, in the novels, sets out to broaden the walls of the silo’s underground bunker with lateral digging in the mine. Since the same is illegal in the establishment, Judicial officials kill him upon considering him as a threat to the security of the place. Although George didn’t express any wish to do lateral digging in the series, he seemingly gets killed by the same authority upon getting deemed as a threat to the order in the establishment. Judicial’s involvement in George’s murder can also be the reason why Holston hid his file in Juliette’s room rather than keeping the same in his office.
Another possible suspect behind George’s murder is the “man who knows everything.” In the sixth episode of the series, Juliette talks to George’s ex-partner Regina, who reveals to the sheriff that a “man who knows everything” had come to see her to inquire about George’s relic. The same person can also be the one who watches Juliette and the rest of the silo for that matter using hidden cameras. The person can even be the supreme authority in the silo. Sims may or may not be working for him as his trusted general. If Sims is only a subordinate of the unknown man, the latter must have sentenced George to death.
