”Turns out, after all this, the wizard is nothing more than a man behind a curtain.”
BACKGROUND:
Silo is a dystopian science-fiction series, based on a trilogy of novels written by Hugh Howey. Howey serves as an executive producer on the series, which was created by prolific television showrunner Graham Yost. Yost also created the acclaimed FX series Justified, and his writing credits include the hit 1994 movie Speed starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.
Silo premiered in May of 2023 on Apple TV (still Apple TV+ at that time), and it has been 18 months since season two aired. The show stars Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible — Fallout) as Juliette Nichols, Common (Suicide Squad) as Robert Sims, and Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption) as Bernard Holland. Joining the main cast for season 3 are Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist) and Ashley Zukerman (Succession). Colin Hanks (Fargo) joins in a recurring role, and Steve Zahn (War for the Planet of the Apes) returns.
At the time of Silo’s third season renewal, the show was also renewed for a fourth and final season. Both seasons were filmed back-to-back. Season 3 premieres on Apple TV on July 3rd.
OPENING THOUGHTS:
I have been an avid fantasy sports player for close to thirty years now, and there is a popular fantasy auction strategy called “Stars and Scrubs” where a manager allocates most of their auction budget to one or two elite players with the understanding that the rest of their roster is going to be filled mostly with “scrubs”, riskier players with much lower upside.
Silo often feels like it was assembled using that same strategy. Rebecca Ferguson is the unquestionable star, as anyone familiar with the Mission: Impossible film franchise knows. Any time she is on screen, I am locked in as a viewer. But the cast around her too often falls short of matching her performance. Common is often singled out among the poor performances, but across the board the supporting roles rarely manage to match Ferguson’s performance.
Season 3 begins three months after the explosive season 2 finale, and follows two parallel timelines- present day in Silo 18, and in the “Before Times” with journalist Helen Drew (Henwick) and US Congressman Daniel Keene (Zukerman). Both the storyline in the present and in the past deal with the tried-and-true television trope of giving a character short-term memory loss.
SUPERLATIVES:
Everything that works in the first two seasons of Silo still works here. Ferguson is a compelling lead, even saddled with a memory loss storyline this season and what felt (to me) like less screentime than the first two seasons. The production design of the 144-level silo is impeccable, and the central mysteries surrounding what drove humanity underground and what keeps them there are as intriguing in season 3 as they were in season 1.
Introducing the “Before Times” origin of the silos is a welcome addition this season. The first two seasons felt so claustrophobic and oppressive (often to great effect), but it is refreshing to see modern day America full of life and color. It provides a stark contrast to the drab, dark, shadowy world of Silo 18. Henwick and Zukerman raise the level of acting talent on the show, but I wish they were given more to do.
Alexandria Riley, who plays Sims’ wife Camille, has an expanded role this season, and emerges as one of the stronger supporting actors in the series. Her conflicted feelings about her new role for the Silo and its impact on her son lead to some of the season’s most emotional moments.
The final two episodes of the season are the best two episodes of the season. They are packed with reveals, and set up what will hopefully be a triumphant conclusion in the final season.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:
Unfortunately, a lot of season 3 just did not work for me. As good as Rebecca Ferguson is, a lot of the season is focused on other characters, and many of those performances fall flat. I praised aspects of the “Before Times” arc above, but most of the season that storyline is just spinning its wheels. In one of the season’s most boring episodes, Helen and Daniel spend the entire episode trapped in a self-driving car and as a viewer I felt trapped as well, unable to escape the uninteresting conversation and bad dialogue.
Steve Zahn’s manic performance as “Solo”, the lone survivor of Silo 17 provided a much needed burst of energy in season 2 that is missing from season 3. The Algorithm, a disembodied voice giving directives to the Silo’s Head of IT, is cheesy and fails as a compelling antagonist. Every scene involving The Algorithm is static and flat.
There is a murder subplot that feels tacked on as an excuse to give Chinaza Uche (Sherriff Paul Billings) something to do this season. I like Uche’s performance, but the resolution is unsatisfying. There is a romance subplot that comes out of nowhere and feels completely unearned. Colin Hanks is underutilized.
THE FINAL WORD:
Silo continues to chase the high of season 1, easily still the best of the series. Season 3 has some solid components, but spends too much of the season in first gear, only really shifting into high gear in the final two episodes.
Those final two episodes, though, are so packed with revelations that they mostly redeem the long and winding road to get there. If you have the patience to stick with the show through the slower episodes (and if you’ve been watching since the beginning I am guessing you do), the payoff will be worth it. The conclusion leaves me optimistic about how the show will wrap up in its fourth and final season.
6/10
-Greg
