In recent years, the streaming service Apple TV+ has established itself as the first port of call for outstanding new science fiction material. After Severance, Foundation and For All Mankind, the dystopia series Silo started last year as a real insider tip for genre fans. The second season started on November 15, 2024.
Thanks to the incredibly strong start, Silo made it straight onto our list of the best sci-fi series of the millennium after just one season. The expectations for the sequel were correspondingly high. But I can reassure you: Silo season 2, of which I was already able to watch 9 (out of 10) episodes in advance, is another sci-fi triumph. What do the new episodes do differently and perhaps better? You can read that here.
Silo season 2 sends Rebecca Ferguson to the horror bunker
The second season of Silo begins immediately after the monumental twist of the opening season and Juliette’s (Rebecca Ferguson) trip to the toxic surface of the earth. With limited air reserves and the realization that numerous other silos exist, the mechanic/investigator takes refuge in the nearest silo. What awaits you there is a horror version of the silo we know.
Silo number 17 is surrounded by thousands of skeletons and is an eerie and seemingly abandoned place, marked by decay and despair. And here Juliette is confronted with a terrible future for her home silo: the search for answers to the mysteries of a silo can exact an enormously high price – and 10,000 lives.
However, the new silo is not completely deserted. Here Juliette meets the survivor Solo (Steve Zahn), who, with his erratic, chaotic and childlike manner, becomes an interesting counterpart to the gruff and impatient mechanic. Solo is the most exciting new character in Silo Season 2because in addition to the entertaining and developing dynamic with Juliette, the character also brings with her plenty of secrets that keep you guessing.
Searching for a way to leave this silo and return home with shocking revelations, Rebecca Ferguson with full physical effort as an impressive survival heroine à la Lara Croft let off steam. Because the adventure trip demands all of Juliette’s skills as a survival artist, mechanic and hobbyist. Deep abysses have to be crossed with ropes or self-made bridges and oppressive underwater passages have to be dived with sparse DIY equipment.
Rebellion, intrigue and murder: the old silo becomes a powder keg
The second season of Silo is split into two different plot parts at the beginning. Far from Silo 17, the story continues in the silo we know (number 18), which is plunged into a monumental crisis after Juliette refuses to clean and disappears. Or as an ominous manual message predicts:
In case of a failed cleanse… prepare for war.
The fire of rebellion burns in the lower levels and it is up to Mayor Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins) to prevent societal collapse. This part of season 2 unleashes a political thriller against a science fiction backdrop a brutal power game on 144 floors. Holland has the lower levels declared the enemy and wants to literally starve out the rebellion through blockades. But the mechanics in the deep layers also have an ace up their sleeve: they operate the generators that supply the entire silo with electricity.
Tim Robbins in particular shines in season 2 as an increasingly complex and complicated villain who sees no other way out than to compromise his morals and commit terrible acts in the name of order. In the midst of intrigue, manipulation and murder, the character also shows emotional and empathetic facets.
With Juliette no longer the direct anchor of this story (although her non-presence inspires an entire rebellion), Season 2 moves forward now Numerous supporting characters come into greater focus. Their loyalties are challenged by the worsening conditions in the silo, revealing numerous exciting dilemmas and character developments.
Silo changes into an even more exciting sci-fi series in season 2
After the first season just adapted the first half of the first volume of Hugh Howey’s novel trilogy, showrunner Graham Yost and his writing staff are now turning their attention to the second half. This is also reflected in the series implementation, because after all the characters and dystopia mechanisms that have been built up, season 2 is now shaking this foundation on all levels.
Watch the trailer for Silo Season 2 here:
Silo – S02 Trailer (German) HD
Although Season 1 already revealed many mysteries, there is no shortage of secrets in the new episodes, the resolution of which expands the world of Silo(s) with every shocking twist. If the story of the bunker dystopia was previously anchored in a detective thriller, season 2 turns out to be Suspense thriller about isolation and survival.
The scripts and production make the most of the claustrophobic setting. For example, when declared dissidents are chased across the silo, the audience and characters alike are tormented by the question: Where can one escape to if the floors of this omnipresently monitored bunker world are only connected to one another by a single spiral staircase? And who can I even trust?
At the beginning, Silo was often described as a vertical version of the thematically similar Snowpiercer series. But while the frosty train dystopia increasingly turned into a soapy B-movie, Silo retained its character in season 2 Complexity and seriousness – and looks fantastic at the same time.
With its visual bombast, stunning practical sets, strong performances and immersive worldbuilding, Silo is too Season 2 continues to be one of the best science fiction series currently on display. There is bad news, however: the nasty cliffhangers at the end of each episode will make the wait for the next one unbearable!
The 10 episodes of the 2nd season of Silo will be released weekly on Apple TV+ on Fridays from November 15, 2024. The basis for the first impression of season 2 are the first 9 episodes.