Critic’s Rating: 3 / 5.0
3
Starvation is one of the oldest weapons of war, and the ongoing internecine conflict in Silo is no exception.
However, Bernard Holland does not have a strategic or tactical mind. Starvation is merely a step in an instruction manual—a procedure written centuries ago that Holland follows to the letter.
Judge Meadows warned him about this, but Bernard is a stickler for the rules, at least insofar as hierarchical establishment and maintenance matters are concerned.
Silo Season 2 Episode 5 slowed this lethargic season to a crawl, but Episode 6 provides diminutive movement in the forward direction.
Mechanical and the rest of the lower levels are essentially under siege, with a small barricade separating the haves from the have-nots.
Bernard, of course, directs things from the safety and security of IT in between talking to Judge Meadow’s corpse and visiting Camille Sims for some polite intimidation.
The animosity and outright hostilities between Mechanical and IT are the primary focus in Silo 18, which is unfortunate for Sheriff Billing’s subplot.
As he continues his investigation on the lower levels, I can’t help but feel like the whole thing is meaningless. Billing’s pursuit of the truth and his unbiased stance are honorable, but neither feels impactful considering the surrounding environment.
Of all the characters in Silo, Billing’s has the clearest arc. As a puppet conscripted from the needs of the body politic, Billings was a company man.
Now, his uncertainty is more obvious than his physical condition. It’s an absolute scandal that Billings, played by Chinaza Uche, doesn’t have more screen time.
He’s one of the more fun characters to watch despite the ongoing events all but eclipsing his subplot. Still, Billings lowers his head and trudges forward, one question at a time.
For the book lovers out there (I know, I bring this up nearly every time), seeing Lukas Kyle serving as Bernard’s shadow is a welcome change of direction.
A guy who was once relegated to obscurity in the mines is now back on track as an important character in both the books and the series. No, Lukas isn’t what I would call a primary character, but his importance in the books makes me happy to see him back in action.
Lukas is the character on whose shoulders the vast mystery and true history of the Silo rests. This is especially true since he’s not wholly Bernard’s creature.
Right now, his role is kinda boring, figuring out obscure codes, secrets, and potential messages from long-dead Silo residents of high repute.
Lukas’ sudden and welcome promotion is not exactly great news to Robert Sims, who spent most of his career pushing to become Bernard’s shadow. For Robert, it’s salt in the wound, watching some nobody recently sentenced to the mines take his rightful place under Bernard’s wing.
The obvious schism between Robert and Bernard just got a lot bigger. While Lukas slowly unravels the secrets of the Silo, Patrick Kennedy is lying in bed with a bullet in his shoulder, spreading lies.
Only he doesn’t know he is feeding Sheriff Billings an untruth. He only knows what he saw on Juliette’s visor feed: green pastures, blue skies, and flocks of birds.
While Juliette is busy working to get back to her Silo to keep her people from repeating the mistake of Silo 17, Kennedy is planting the seeds for the same mistake in Silo 18. He just doesn’t know any better.
It has the effect of driving the intensity of the story up a notch. Episode 6 is a step up from Episode 5, but the writers seem to have a knack for silliness here and there.
On the bright side, it’s not prevalent or pervasive throughout the series, but these moments are often immersion-breaking, irrational leaps.
Season 2 Episode 3 was rife with them, like the entire history of Mechanical versus IT conveniently written on a wall that no one noticed until it was necessary for the plot.
Or the entire Silo rallying against Mechanical after a few words from Sims. In Episode 6, it takes the form of combat or lack thereof.
There’s the typical rallying cry, the entertainment industry’s weird infatuation with screaming before charging (most people will run out of lung power for screaming while sprinting pell-mell up a flight of stairs), and the melodramatic camera angles.
Only this time, right before the two parties clash in Battle of Rohirrim style, someone screams, “Stop!” Everyone stops. The leaders of the two parties, ready to slaughter each other moments before, have a simple and short conversation.
Just like that, Mechanical gains ten floors, one of which conveniently includes the farm. The starving problem is solved, and Bernard Holland’s siege strategy is over.
If only someone had been there to scream, “Stop!” at the Battle of Thermopylae, Antietam, Waterloo, Zama, or Stalingrad. It’s probably the greatest “WTF” moment in the series. So far.
Silo does much better in its darker, more mysterious occasions — the political back and forth and the maneuvering that comes so naturally to human beings vying for power in a despotic system.
It is a bit fun to see Mechanical’s minds continually outmaneuvering Bernard. But, at the end of the day, Bernard is a glorified IT supervisor and a politician, far too smug and sure of himself.
His one moment of introspection involves talking to Judge Meadow’s corpse, asking her redundant questions she already told him back before he murdered her with a plate of mushrooms.
Yeah, that weird scene of poisonous mushrooms followed by a jaunt through virtual reality land with a glorified Nintendo Virtual Boy.
In the meantime, Juliette Nichols is “out of sight, out of mind.” Her lone scene comes at the very end of the episode and seems jarringly out of place.
Mostly because the entire episode is dedicated to the goings-on of Silo 18, Juliette’s quest is little more than background noise. Suddenly she gets a small scene of dialogue between her and Solo, right at the end.
It’s a strange, shoo-in moment that opens the door to Episode 7 but feels entirely out of place, despite Juliette being the series’ main protagonist.
Considering the action going on (or not going on, as it turns out) in Silo 18, jumping back and forth between Silos would be too immersion-breaking. The thing is, Julliette’s quest should always be the focus, as it was in the books.
Unfortunately, book readers rarely get their way.
Watch Silo Season 2 Online
