REVIEW: ‘Silo’ Season 2 Episode 2 — “Order”

Silo Season 2 kicked off with a tight character study of who Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) is and how she became that way. Now, the series is shifting its focus back to Silo 18. In Silo Season 2 Episode 2, “Order,” it’s clear that Juliette’s refusal to clean and subsequent walking over the hill has turned the once peaceful community into a powder keg.

With Mechanical grieving Juliette being sent out of the Silo, those she had deep relationships with, like Shirley (Remmie Milner), Knox (Shane McRae), and Martha (Harriet Walter), all showcase the personal impact of her banishment. That said, it’s not just grief reverberating throughout the Down Deep. It’s also rebellion.

As Shirley turns her anger into action, she moves to spread the word that Juliette has done what no one had before. She didn’t clean, and she walked out past the view of the cafeteria. In Silo Season 2 Episode 2, her rage fuels her hope that Juliette is still alive. Still, it’s also stoking the flames of a rebellion that Mayor Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins), Head of Judicial Security Hank Sims (Common) struggles to stomp out. As the mayor looks through his protocol book, the answer to what to do next is simple: war is coming. It has to.

War is on the way in Silo 18.

As war makes itself an eventuality in Silo Season 2 Episode 2, Bernard and Sims work to cut the movement before it can build up steam. Or so they hope. They put a detail on Dr. Nichols (Iain Glen), move Hank (Billy Postlethwaite) down to the Down Deep, and round up Lukas Kyle (Avi Nash) to keep the story from spreading. But Judge Meadows (Tanya Moodie) seems more intrigued than unnerved at the revelation over the hill.

Knox, on the other hand, is trying to keep the fires of Mechanical at a simmer instead of engulfing Silo 18. He’s trying to keep everything together and is seemingly aware of the pain that will come to his people in the Deep Down if they don’t cooperate with the sheriffs. But that doesn’t stop Shirley from organizing. All the while, Sheriff Paul Billings (Chinaza Uche) attempts to know that Sims’ report of Juliette’s request to go outside isn’t up to snuff.

But standing outside of it in Silo Season 2 Episode 2 is Martha. Juliette’s maternal figure is deep in her grief, and it’s the first episode where she allows her resolve to shake, but only in front of Shirley, who refuses to stop organizing. For a sci-fi series, Silo is deeply dependent on its characters’ relationships and how they unravel the mystery and twist the tension tighter around the residents of Silo 18.

Silo Season 2 Episode 2 stands above other television episodes.

At this point, my only issue with this series is that there are so few episodes of Silo Season 2, a decision that Apple TV Plus will keep making, and I will keep being frustrated by. Silo is a science fiction epic, but it’s also a political drama. It’s dystopian, but humanity is right there on the surface.

From a performance standpoint, Common can’t be overlooked. Common, Robbins, and Walter are what keep Silo 18 grounded in something more profound than its twists and turns. That said, of the three, Common continues to showcase his ability to act in episodic series, which was immediately apparent during his time on AMC’s Hell on Wheels and which he hasn’t been allowed to do in his smaller action roles since. Here, though, his Sims is an intimidating force that can’t be moved, even when questioned.

If every episode this season continues like this, showrunner Graham Yost will solidify this series as the greatest sci-fi series on television yet again. Silo Season 2 Episode 2 is thoughtful in how it sharpens Silo 18’s rebellion. As the Mayor and the judiciary find themselves with their back against the wall, it will only get worse. In the next episode, we’re sure to learn more about Solo (Steve Zahn). Surprisingly, both parallel stories are something I want to keep watching unfold. Neither is stronger than the other, but pulling the season forward in tandem, two parts of an excellently crafted whole.

Silo Season 2 Episode 2 is streaming now, with a new episode every Friday in November and December on AppleTV+.