Summary
Juliette is entirely absent from “Order”, allowing us time to catch up with the delicate political balance of the home she left behind.
Season 2 of Silo continues to be about vibes, and the general underlying feeling of Episode 2, “Order”, is civil unrest, fomenting rebellion, and abuses of power. The tension is still there, beneath it all. The Silo is on the cusp of revolt, and everyone knows it, even if they’re not all entirely sure why. Juliette walking over the hill in the Season 1 finale has thrown everything into disarray, and it’s clear that the place will never be quite the same again.
Interestingly, this is a more in-depth portrait of the same microcosmic opening of the Season 2 premiere, when we saw another Silo erupt into bloodshed. As far as we know, Juliette is still there, exploring its quiet husk, getting to know whoever it was she encountered at the end of the episode. Juliette doesn’t feature in “Order” at all, at least not in person, but her name and spirit are all over the place.
Picking up amid raucous alarms and mass panic, Episode 2 of the second season is aptly titled, since it is indeed about order – its collapse, the efforts to maintain it, and the potential ramifications of its absence. It could just as easily be called “Politics”, since it is, in large part, about the efforts of Mayor Holland to turn Juliette’s disappearing act into a positive PR spin.
The implications are massive, obviously. Everyone saw Juliette leave, and the idea that she might still be alive is growing among the populace. It violates everything they’ve been told, raises red flags all around the Judicial Department, and stirs up a volatility in the rank and file. Mayor Holland knows he needs to deal with the situation quickly, but isn’t sure of how.
As a starting point he puts the Sheriff Department under the control of Robert Sims, and then goes to Meadows for an endorsement. She’s reluctant to give one without something in return, and she refers to The Wizard of Oz for a general outline of what she’s looking for. At the end of that story, the Wizard escapes on a hot air balloon, and she likes that idea – freedom, release from the confines of the Silo.
Tim Robbins in Silo | Image via Apple TV+
The spin is pretty clever. Holland declares Juliette a hero, a new beacon of hope for the future of the Silo. She was using a new kind of tape, he explains, and her going over the hill proves its success. The repercussions could be enormous. The advantages of this “new tape” bring everyone close to their ultimate goal of leaving the Silo. The crowd eats it up, especially when Meadows grants every household five credits to celebrate.
Shirley isn’t having this, though. She knows it’s all a lie, and that the IT department have been using the bad tape for ages. Juliette’s good tape is the standard stuff, and it was swapped by someone on the inside. But security round on her quickly. She only avoids a trip to the mines because Knox steps in and vouches for her. When she storms off, he sends Cooper to follow her.
The Mayor’s story means that Walker, who had been hauled away by Hank on suspicion of being Juliette’s conspirator, is released, and she in turn follows Cooper to the little rebellion group that Shirley is stirring. You can see the sides beginning to form here, especially since Holland formerly pitches a more concrete alliance with Meadows in exchange for putting some of the good tape aside for her. It’s the resistance on one side, and the Judicial Department on the other, with key players like Sims somewhere in the middle, and Juliette off in the middle of nowhere. Maybe we’ll check up on her next week.
To prove the point, new graffiti starts cropping up on the walls reading “JL” – Juliette Lives. Silo Season 2, Episode 2 ends with that reminder, and the idea that belief in her survival will irrevocably shape the immediate future of the Silo.
