Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Silo.
With the first season of the hit AppleTV+ science fiction show Silo wrapping up with a gripping finale, there are also some storylines that have been left open-ended and set up for Season 2, which has already been approved by the streaming service. Show creator Graham Yost's adaptation of the Hugh C. Howey trilogy of novels delivered a phenomenal first season and provided the perfect pathway into an encore installment. The mind-warping cliffhanger ending was a sublime bit of science-fiction and set up a myriad of storylines and character arcs for the new season. So let's explore how the finale sets up some deliciously mysterious pivot points for stars Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, Common, Iain Glen, Harriet Walker, and Avi Nash in the show's second season.
What Is Beyond the Silo?
When our indefatigable protagonist Juliette Nichols (Ferguson) is forced out of her position of sheriff by a power-hungry Mayor Bernard Holland (Robbins) and his lieutenant Rob Sims (Common), she is made to take a deal to exit the silo and "clean," which is basically a death sentence. No one who has left the silo has made it very far. In fact, they all seem to meet the same fate, which is to amble toward a tree on the crest of a grassy knoll just outside the silo hatch door. Those who came before her include the husband and wife duo of Allison Becker (Rashida Jones) and the sheriff that Nichols replaced, Holston Becker (David Oyelowo), who set everything in motion in the first two episodes of the season by raising questions about the true nature of the silo. Having the finale bookend what the brave couple initiated in the beginning of the series is an appropriate way to go out and set up what will happen to Juliette, who has already made it farther from the hatch than any of her predecessors. Season 2 leaves us with a wide shot of an intrepid woman who may be on the cusp of the truth about the silo.
RELATED: 'Silo': Apple TV+ Makes Series Premiere Available to Stream for Free Ahead of Finale
What Do the Other Craters Mean For Season 2 of 'Silo'?
When Juliette reaches the crest of the hill, it turns out to be nothing more than a synthetic image of lush greenery, birds flying in the sky, and a lone tree that symbolizes both life and death. It represents life in a way that things can supposedly grow outside the silo, but also marks the spot where both Allison and Holston Becker met their demise. So when she makes it past that point, Holland is gobsmacked to the point that he blurts out to his lieutenant Sims, "She knows." He sprints back to the silo control room and throws a switch that either disables the pleasantly fake electronic canvas or is too late and Juliette breaks through the program walls to get a glimpse of the real world that exists outside the silo. It's very Matrix-y in that way. What she sees is a planet's surface that is littered with craters similar to the one she just emerged from. This revelation will be another storyline that will undoubtedly be addressed in Season 2.
The City Skyline On the Distant Horizon in 'Silo'
You may not have seen it the first time, but if you watch the final scene again, you will not only see craters scattered across the surface but also a downtown city skyline off in the distance hidden behind a hazy layer of dust. Now this promises to be something else that showrunners will explore in Season 2. Is it a post-apocalyptic city in ruins, or is there a thriving society above ground that co-exists alongside the hundreds of silos? There are so many possibilities set up in the cliffhanger final scene that it's hard to wrap our heads around the seemingly endless possibilities. Whether they are even populated at all will be one question, and another storyline that bears examination in Season 2 is are humans the only species on the planet. Is it the moon in the year 2500? Again, show creator Yost really leaves a plethora of intriguing variations heading into next season.
Crucial Supporting Characters Are Still in the Silo
The stellar supporting cast in Silo includes stars from some of the biggest shows in recent television history. Juliette's father, Dr. Pete Nichols, is played by none other than Iain Glen who rose to fame as Jorah Mormont on the massive HBO phenomenon Game of Thrones from 2010-2019. Her mentor and adoptive mother, Martha Walker, is played by Harriet Walter who is fresh off her run as the disengaged mother of the Roy kids in Succession. Both are going to have to answer to Judicial and Mayor Holland for their roles in aiding Juliette get as far as she has. One accomplice, systems analyst Lukas Kyle (Avi Nash) has already been sentenced to 10 years in the purgatory that is the iron ore mining caves where people are sent to not be killed but left for dead in the deepest bowels of the silo. A fate worse than death, perhaps. Both Nichols and Walker will probably have to answer to Holland and Sims.
