I loved season one but this new season is far from having the same impact, how much time we are spending looking back rather than looking forward, because the episode picks up right where we left off, with Bernard rushing to the server room after witnessing Juliette’s successful escape from Silo 18, and this episode is entirely about showing us what happens inside the silo immediately after she makes it out, and while it’s important to understand the consequences of her actions, I feel we could be exploring more interesting aspects of this world, such as how these silos came to be in the first place.
In the episode "Order," Bernard played by Tim Robbins struggles to maintain order after Juliette got out and this caused chaos among the people that remain inside, and while Robbin gives a solid performance as Bernard, desperate to make sense of it all, he consults what appears to be a series of instructions in a mysterious book called "The Order" that includes advice on what to do if a cleaning fails, prepare for war, it's fascinating to see how Bernard manipulates the situation, building up a story about experimental tape in Juliette's suit allowing her to survive, but at the same time it feels more like we are trying to stay afloat than diving into the mysteries of this world, well this is probably me be too anxious and dramatic about it.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14688458/
- Platform: AppleTV+
Rottentomatoe Rating
We spend a lot of time with the growing tension between different factions in the Silo, especially in the down deep where Shirley, starts gathering supporters for what seems to be an unstoppable rebellion and we get more of Judge Meadows, who apparently has a shared history with Bernard and seems to have her own agenda, wanting to go outside herself, I always thought she was loosing faith in the Silo administration and their ways to manage everything within keeping the population in the shadows of what is really or what has become of the Silo, they kept hiding the truth and Medows seem to loose faith on the system, although everything that is going on on Silo 18 now feels flat because Juliette is not there to spice things up.
The production design is still impressive, the cramped corridors and factory like aesthetic of the Silo making a perfect setting for the rising tension, the kinda of steam punk style with dark and orange like scenes makes it very impressive but its hard to watch if its not on 4k due to all the very dark scenes. The way the episode is shot, particularly in the server room sequences where Bernard watches Juliette's helmet cam footage, effectively communicates the isolation and control that the system they have created has over the Silo's population, and the graffiti showing "JL" (Juliette Lives) appearing throughout the Silo is a powerful emblem of resistance, even though it feels like we've seen similar rebellion story lines before.
This episode really nails the idea of control through information, Bernard's manipulation of the truth about the tape, the mysterious book of rules he consults, and the way he plants people in the crowd to help sell his lies, all paint a picture of a very carefully constructed system of control probably develop over many many years before the Silo was even constructed; Walker and Carla's detention and later on release is also a great example of how the leadership maintains its grip by showing off their force and mercy, both sides of the coin depending on what suits them better at the moment, though I wish we were getting more answers about why this system exists, rather than just watching it in action, anxiety spikes.
Episode 2 ends with many interesting threads to develop the rest of the season, including Bernard’s control of the situation, for now, through his carefully crafted tale of experimental tape, but we have already seen the seeds of rebellion being sewn throughout the Silo, most notably by the JL graffiti, which means “Juliette Lives,” found on the walls of multiple levels.
The revelation that Judge Meadows wanted to go outside is another level of complication to the ending; here's someone who was once Bernard's shadow, who knows more of the silo's secrets than most, who has been inspired by Juliette's success and has stopped drinking after 25 years, as if seeing someone actually survive the cleaning has woken something up in her that has been asleep all these years, they don't know for sure or fact that Juliette survive but at least she was gone from where everyone was suppose to die.
The ending is so powerful too or lets say has powerful cliff hangers because it opens up the potential for history to repeat itself, Bernard mentions a rebellion 140 years ago that leadership was able to squelch, but with Juliette’s successful escape and survival, the stakes are different, the people have witnessed the outside world not necessarily be what they’ve been led to believe, and perhaps more importantly, they’ve seen that survival is possible. Will Silo 18 go the way of Silo 17? Will Bernard be able to keep a handle on things by manipulation and judiciously planted supporters or will the truth about the tape and the outside world spread too fast? Will Judge Meadows be leading the fight, and if so whose side will she be on? Most importantly, how will Juliette's continued absence affect those who believe in her?
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