Silo Season 1 Ending Explained

Summary

• The outside world of Silo is toxic, confirmed by the desolate wasteland Juliette encounters outside the Silo.
• Juliette survives outside with the help of Martha and the proper sealing of her suit using good quality heat tape.
• Silo season 1’s ending sets up new mysteries and possibilities for season 2, with the revelation of other Silos and Juliette’s pursuit of the truth.

Silo season 1’s ending is packed with revelations but also introduces new mysteries to set the stage for season 2. In Silo season 1’s finale, Juliette uses the trash chute to move secretly between floors. To expose the Silo’s secrets to its citizens, she even attempts to display the Jane Carmody video across all Silo screens. Unfortunately, Bernard realizes she is using the chute and stops her by asking law enforcement to throw heavy trash down the hatch. As a result, Juliette finally gets caught and Bernard snags George Wilkin’s hard drive and smashes it to pieces.

In Silo season 1 episode 10’s closing moments, Bernard strikes a deal with Juliette: he asks her to comply with him and walks her through everything he knows about the Silo. Giving her a semblance of resolution, he even shows her a video of George Wilkins’ final moments. In the ending moments of Silo season 1’s finale, Lukas gets sent to the mines for not reporting Juliette when she had previously visited him. Meanwhile, Juliette bids farewell to her father and receives a cryptic message from Martha. Before Silo season 1 ends, Juliette finally steps outside.

What’s Outside The Silo

Is It Really Toxic Outside?

Silo season 1 introduced many a mystery in its 10-episode runtime, but one of its biggest questions revolved around the state of the outside world. In episode 1, Apple TV+’s Silo established that the air in the outside world is toxic, which is why people live in the confined environment of the Silo. However, the episodes that followed flipped this revelation by showing how Sheriff Holston finds a habitable environment outside when he steps out but still, for some reason, dies moments later. In its ending moments, Silo season 1 finally confirms what lies outside the underground city.

At first, when Juliette leaves the Silo, she finds the same green and beautiful world that Holston saw when he stepped out. However, after she observes a flock of birds flying in a V-formation in the sky, she realizes that the visual is too similar to what she saw in the Jane Carmody cleaning video. This similarity helps her understand that the outside world she is observing is a mere VR simulation, likely getting projected through the screen of her helmet. Soon, Juliette notices glitches in her simulated reality but navigates her way by feeling her surroundings.

The state of the outside world also affirms that the visuals in the Silo’s cafeteria screen are accurate.

After climbing the hill surrounding the Silo, she reaches Holston’s body and pays him a tribute by returning his badge. She then takes one last look at the Silo below and climbs up. That’s when her VR simulation suddenly breaks and the real world appears. It is nothing but a desolate wasteland with no humans or any form of life in sight. Far ahead in the expanse, a city can be spotted, but the harrowing visuals in Silo season 1’s ending scene confirm that humans evacuated the city a long time ago. The state of the outside world also affirms that the visuals in the Silo’s cafeteria screen are accurate.

The World Outside The Silo Is Toxic

What That Means

The desolate visuals of the outside world confirm that the air is indeed toxic. It proves that Holston and Allison did not die because the Silo’s authorities filled their suits with toxic gases just to sell their lie. They died because their suits were intentionally designed using defective tape to let in the toxic gases from the outside world’s environment. Instead of believing that humans cannot breathe the toxic air outside the Silo, Holston and Allison made the mistake of assuming that the VR simulation from their helmet is real. Luckily for Juliette, she learned a lot about the Silo’s secrets before leaving.

Silo season 1 reveals nothing about what could have polluted the outside world. However, considering how the show deals with themes surrounding human morality, corruption, and power play, it seems likely that a human-induced disaster ended the world. Either climate change turned Silo’s external world toxic or a nuclear disaster made it uninhabitable.

Why Bernard Sent Juliette Outside In Silo’s Ending

How She Survives

Juliette seals her fate as soon as she defies the Silo’s higher authorities in season 1. When Bernard and Sims first captured her at the crop fields in Silo episode 8’s ending, they had already decided to set her up by claiming that she herself wants to leave the Silo. However, after she somehow evades her arrest, she breaks several other laws of the Silo, making her acquittal nearly impossible. In Silo season 1’s ending, it looks like Bernard wants to punish her by sending her out, but his final words suggest that his reasons are far deeper.

In Silo season 1’s finale, Bernard tells Juliette that every life in the Silo is valuable, and she was among the most important citizens of the underground city because of her technical contributions in the down deep. Bernard’s confession to Juliette suggests he is not scorned by her defiance and would even keep her in the Silo if he had a choice. He makes her leave the Silo because he does not have a choice. He realizes that if she stays around after breaking every other law in the Silo, the city’s citizens will stop taking the Silo’s rules seriously.

As a result, they will not let fear cloud their judgment of wrong and right and start a rebellion. And since the outside world is toxic, a rebellion could eventually lead to the Silo’s destruction if the citizens get too curious and decide to open the hatch that keeps them protected. Therefore, to set an example of how breaking the Silo’s rules can have dire consequences, Bernard sends Juliette outside and hopes to maintain order in the Silo. Silo’s author, Hugh Howey, too, explained this (via Reddit) by highlighting that Silo’s authorities intentionally baffle the citizens to get them “giddy to the point of numb obedience.”

How Juliette Survives Outside The Silo – The Heat Tape Twist Explained

She Had Help

After Juliette gets captured by the Silo’s enforcement in Silo season 1’s finale, Martha leaves her home after decades, realizing that only she can save Juliette. She visits Carla from the Silo’s Supplies unit and asks her for a favor. Moments later, Juliette receives a box of hush puppies from Martha with a note saying: “You wanted the truth. The truth is I love you. Have no fear. They’re good in Supply.” Martha’s note confirms that she has made provisions to help Juliette survive the outside world.

When Juliette finally leaves the Silo, she recalls Martha’s words and realizes that the people from the Supply who helped her put on her suit sealed her sleeves using good quality heat tape and made it airtight. Allison and Holston died after leaving the Silo because their suits were intentionally sealed with defective tapes. They were given suits not for protection but for selling them the VR simulation lie of their helmets. Fortunately for Juliette, her friends and family, especially Martha, had her back before she departed the underground city.

Silo season 1 had foreshadowed Juliette’s fate in its opening episodes by making several references to the heat tape. When Juliette became the sheriff, Bernard kept accusing her of stealing a certain tape from the IT. Juliette even complained that the tape was no good because it wore out way faster than the tape she previously used. This hints that the IT was using faulty tape to seal the suits of people leaving the Silo. Juliette, however, avoided meeting the same fate as the others because Martha asked the workers to use the good heat tape on her suit.

…to defy the Silo’s authorities and expose the outside world’s truth, Juliette avoids cleaning.

After leaving in Silo season 1’s ending, Juliette approaches the screen but intentionally drops her wool to protest. The ones before her cleaned the screen because the VR simulations in their helmets convinced them that the world outside was not as dark as they had believed. Hence, they tried to clear the screen, hoping the people inside the Silo would see what they see. Juliette, in contrast, realizes that the VR projections from her helmet are a lie and that what people see inside the Silo is the real state of the outside world. Therefore, to defy the Silo’s authorities and expose the outside world’s truth, Juliette avoids cleaning.

Silo 18’s Creation Explained

Although Silo season 1’s ending resolves many underlying mysteries, it establishes that there is more to the world of Silo than meets the eye. By showing that there are many other Silos out there, season 1’s ending opens room for several new stories and characters in Silo‘s future seasons. This prospect raises anticipation for Silo season 2 and triggers discussions surrounding other nagging Silo questions.

As Bernard confirms in his closing speech to Juliette in Silo season 1, episode 10, he, too, knows little about the Silo’s origins and creations. Unlike Juliette, however, he blindly believes that the creators of their Silo meant well and were only trying to sustain humanity in the post-apocalyptic world. The fact that the world outside is toxic suggests that the Silos were created to protect humans, at least initially. However, there could still be more to the outside world. Perhaps, unbeknownst to the Silo’s citizens and leaders, parts of the outside world are still safe and habitable for humans.

Bernard’s anxiousness towards
Silo
season 1’s ending also hints there are people above him in other Silos, who expect him to maintain Silo-18’s order.

Silo‘s ending scene, in which the camera zooms out and reveals several other Silos adjacent to the central Silo-18, confirms that there are many other Silos out there. While the precise number remains unknown, the fact that season 1’s central Silo is “Silo-18” suggests that there are at least 17 other Silos out there. However, the view of the expanse in Silo’s ending moments suggests that the total number goes way beyond 30. Bernard’s anxiousness towards Silo season 1’s ending also hints there are people above him in other Silos, who expect him to maintain Silo-18’s order.

George Wilkins’ Death Explained

What It Means For Juliette In Silo Season 2

Throughout Silo season 1, Juliette was uncertain about what happened to George Wilkins. Silo season 1’s finale confirms that Doug did not kill Wilkins. Sims had asked Doug to get him alive so that he and his men could torture Wilkins and find out where he hid his hard drive. Wilkins realized that his mission of finding the Silo’s truth was bigger than him. Therefore, he sacrificed his life to ensure the hard drive landed in good hands. Now that Juliette knows Wilkins truly loved her and gave up his life for the greater good, she will double down on her efforts to find the truth in Silo season 2.

What Do Sims & Mayor Holland Really Know About The Silo & Outside World

Sims Knows Little But Bernard Seems To Know A Lot

As Silo season 1’s ending suggests, Sims knows little to nothing about the outside world and is only following orders. Bernard, however, has always known that the outside world’s atmosphere is toxic, which is why he ensures that anyone who steps outside does not have the right heat tape on their suit. Since Silo season 1’s ending hints that Bernard is also in touch with the higher authorities that control all the silos, it seems likely he knows what started the apocalypse in the outside world and led to the construction of the silos. However, since he is not at the top of the chain of command, some secrets are likely outside his reach.

The Real Meaning Of Silo Season 1’s Ending

It Sets Up A Lot For Season 2

Silo season 1’s ending affirms that its storyline only scratched the surface of Hugh Howey’s original lore from the Silo books. From a storytelling standpoint, it presents a moral conundrum surrounding freedom and the illusion of free will. In Silo season 1’s closing scene, Juliette breaks free from the shackles of the Silo’s authoritative leaders, but is she free in a world where human existence is not even possible? It also makes one wonder whether Juliette did the right thing by setting up a rebellion with her defiance, given how the outside world is toxic.

In Silo season 2, Juliette will likely find a way to enter another Silo and perhaps even use the underground channels to return to Silo-18. However, it is yet to be seen how she will get to the bottom of the new mysteries she encounters toward Silo season 1’s ending. With so much to unravel, the prospect of another Silo season already seems exciting.

What Silo’s Cast & Creator Have Said About Silo’s Ending

Rebecca Fergusson & Graham Yost Had Unique Visions For Season 1’s Ending

Speaking about the show’s season 1 ending (via EW), Rebecca Fergusson recalled how she had to visualize everything her character had been through before filming the scene where Juliette steps out of Silo 18. She had to remember how the people of the silo have “never experienced the height of skies, horizontal views, depths, gravel, stones.” On top of that, she also had to think about how the people of the silo were lied to about the consequences of leaving.

By giving audiences a semblance of closure but still leaving them with more questions than answers, Silo season 1’s ending effectively creates hype and excitement for season 2.

She also said she saw a video of a chimpanzee on Instagram who was locked up for its entire life for research but later let out in the open. As the actress recounted, the chimpanzee was overwhelmed with joy and curiosity, which is what Juliette feels when she leaves in Silo season 1’s ending. This, according to Fergusson, also makes Juliette’s ending a little sad because it is a scary moment for her to stand alone outside having no clue what she should do next. Expressing her satisfaction with Silo season 1’s ending, she also said that “it’s the most perfect cliffhanger ever.”

Showrunner Graham Yost revealed (via Collider) that they intended to make a deal with audiences with Silo season 1’s ending: “If we’ve done this and we get to do more, you know we’re gonna to tell you what happens and we’re not gonna string it out, interminably.” Considering how Silo season 1 was a hit, and season 2 is now underway, the showrunner’s approach clearly worked wonders. By giving audiences a semblance of closure but still leaving them with more questions than answers, Silo season 1’s ending effectively creates hype and excitement for season 2.

How Silo’s Ending Sets Up Season 2

Many Overarching Questions Remain Unanswered After Silo Season 1

One of the biggest revelations in Silo season 1’s ending is that there are several other silos out there. This alone makes one question whether there is life in all or any of those other silos, making room for season 2 to introduce new characters. Bernard’s actions after Juliette survives also hint that he is not the leading force behind all the silos. There are people above him, who will likely be introduced in season 2. Since Juliette planted the seeds of a rebellion before leaving, her survival could also trigger a war between the citizens and the higher authorities in season 2, spelling trouble for Bernard.

Beyond these character beats, Silo season 1’s ending also raises questions about the franchise’s world. What happened to the outside world and why the silos were built in the first place are two big mysteries. Since the show’s creators plan to end it after four seasons, Silo season 2 will likely not provide all the answers but pave the way for future seasons to gradually resolve all loose ends.

• Silo

  Release Date:

  2023-05-05

  Cast:

  Rebecca Ferguson, Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Common, Tim Robbins, Harriet Walter

  Genres:

  Science Fiction, Drama

  Rating:

  TV-MA

  Seasons:

  1

  Story By:

  Hugh Howey

  Streaming Service(s):

  Apple TV+

  Showrunner:

  Graham Yost

  Directors:

  Morten Tyldum, David Semel