I’ve had Apple TV+ for a while now, but for one reason or another, I never really used it other than when I watched Severance in its first season and the first couple of seasons of Ted Lasso when they came out. This holiday period, my partner and I told ourselves that since we pay for the service (we have the Apple bundle and use other Apple services so we weren’t just paying for this for no reason), we may as well start going through the catalogue. I had heard great things about the content but I can’t say Apple does a great job of marketing them.
All that to say, we have since watched Presumed Innocent, both seasons of Silo and we are watching season 2 of Severance as well as Slow Horses. All of them are excellent but for whatever reason, Silo has really stuck with me. It’s a thing I have that when I watch something that nobody else that I know seems to be watching, I turn into this big advocate for it. And Silo is that for me now. I’ve gotten so into it that I even bought the whole book trilogy because I can’t wait for the next seasons to know what happens. I have to know!
Anyways, I am going to presume that you haven’t watched this show yet since who would read this review for season 1 after season 2 has already concluded unless you were still mulling over whether to watch it or not. Hopefully I can sell you on it in this review! Also, since I’m selling you on it, I won’t get too into the main story beats or anything. Everything in this article will be surface level and early on in the show – just enough to give you an idea of what you’d be getting into. No spoilers!
Point 1: Great Worldbuilding
By far, the strongest element of Silo is worldbuilding. The show is set after an unnamed calamity in the outside world, in, you guessed it, a silo that is 144 floors deep with each floor being large enough to house people or businesses or activities. Certain floors are dedicated to certain things like growing food or a cafeteria or a medical bay, giving people a reason to be going up and down the stairs to access different floors. In classic science fiction fashion, the upper floors house more important people while the lower floors are for the labour class called mechanicals. There is also next to no knowledge of the outside world in any capacity – people don’t know what birds are or what the ocean is. They are very insulated (pun intended).
10,000 people live in the silo governed by a mayor, a sheriff and a judicial branch with a judge at its head. But more importantly, everything in the silo is run according to a book called The Pact, written by the Founders to guide the society. It outlines many rules that run from just general laws to more specific aspects tailored to life in the silo, one of which becomes the main trigger point for the first season: if anyone says they want to leave the silo, they will be given a protective suit and be made to leave. In the silo, there is a viewing area in the cafeteria that shows camera footage of the outside desolate world at all times. Every person that has left in the inhabitants’ memory has not made it past the little hill that the silo looks out on, with multiple dead bodies in suits littering the landscape.
The dynamics in the silo play a huge part in the story as things start to unfold, giving way to more layers of this world being peeled back that I will let you discover yourself. It’s very well thought out and executed and feels tangible. The best compliment I can give it is it makes you constantly think about yourself in this world and what you would do and what your feelings would be. Any plot holes seem to almost be there on purpose to make you question things, and then soon after characters in the show will question them too. It feels very organic and I can’t speak highly enough about it.
Point 2: Mystery That Keeps You Guessing
The story itself I won’t get too into as I said, but the way the mystery is written is hard to not get caught up in immediately. As I’ll discuss in Point 4 more, on the surface, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. The general story of people confined somewhere without really knowing why and then trying to discover what’s really going on is a tale as old as time. But the parts that the show in season 1 focuses on and the way it unfolds is what sets it apart.
We get layers of stories that interact with each other in different ways and that give us bits and pieces of things. There’s a constant push and pull in the narrative where sometimes you’re sure things are one way and then the next moment, you are unsure. It also really teases out the pacing so that you keep wanting more. Each time you think you’ll get an answer, you are given more questions instead. It gets right to the precipice of frustrating before rewarding with just enough that you stay hooked.
I can’t imagine anyone watching this does not become engrossed in wanting to know what’s happening and thus becoming invested very quickly.
Point 3: Characters That Feel Real
In many such types of media, the characters are often archetypes rather than deep, well crafted human beings. One of the reasons for that is many of the more known versions of this type of story, at least on the screen, are movies with limited runtimes that get dedicated to one or two main characters and everyone else serves a purpose. But, this show has the luxury of being able to take its time. If anything, the main protagonist, Juliette Nichols, is the most archetypal character. She comes close to being a Mary Sue, but is given enough emotional depth and charisma that she is able to escape that being an issue in the story.
The main strength in characterizations comes in the form of the side characters. Every character seems to have their own backstory and reason for doing what they are. The story is littered with tragedies and raw emotion of different types. And to bring it all together, the show has made an effort to really have a very diverse cast with ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, and disability all being well represented. I won’t get into the whole debate about that stuff, but in Silo, it also serves a purpose in the story: you need genetic diversity within a community of 10,000 to ensure a healthy population. And for this reason, people who want to have kids have to be approved to make sure that’s maintained.
Point 4: Building on Predecessors
As mentioned before, the concept of the story is not revolutionary. This type of story has been done before, and in fact, a high profile show in 2024, Fallout, basically has the exact same premise. You can also take a myriad of other science fiction novels where societies are controlled and thinking freely is contained. Hugh Howey, the author of the books, doesn’t shy away from what inspires him. Why try to fight against what is obvious? No, instead he finds new ways of exploring those same things. Where many of those properties depict strong, iron fist regimes, Silo depicts a fragile one that seems to be held together by its own interconnectivity rather than because of constant oversight alone. It puts forth a community that upholds itself and its need for each other. Although the concept of classes exists, it is much more muted in many parts compared to other comparable stories.
It really strikes a great balance of familiar and unique while playing your expectations of what feels familiar. Howey really plays with the tropes to lull you into security before zigging instead of zagging, which is what makes the show feel special. And the best tricks up his sleeve? Well you’ll have to watch the show for that!
Had I started watching this show earlier, perhaps season 2 of Silo would have made it into my favourite live action show of 2024. While it did not, you may be interested in what did end up being my show of the year. Find out here!
