Welcome to the Silo Season 1 Ending Explained. We have so much to discuss from this explosive, jaw-dropping episode: from Juliette’s arrest and sacrifice to the truth about George Wilkins’ death, to that mind-blowing reveal at the end of Silo Season 1.
Juliette’s world just got a lot bigger, and with Revelation comes a host of new questions which are now situated on top of a pile of other ones that are still lingering, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily. I’m not going to get into any specific book spoilers in this, but I will say this before we get started; All mysteries in this series, lead back to one thing, the Silo itself.
This sets up a sequence of layered reveals that keep going deeper, and the book series is very thorough in providing answers. Nothing is guaranteed, but with the success of the first season, it seems likely that we will get to see the complete adaptation of the story, which means you shouldn’t have to worry if you’ll get answers or not.
Here is Silo Season 1 Ending Explained:
Juliette’s Crucifixion
Although I am not a religious man, I was immediately struck by the biblical parallels of the events in this episode to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. You see, Juliette, now having seen what she believes to be the truth about the outside world, attempts to deliver the message to the people of the Silo.
Those in charge of the Silo, deem this as blasphemous to the doctrine of The Founders and use the might of the Judicial, the sheriff’s office, and the raiders for hunting down Juliette and her team, which you could argue are representative of the disciples.
Juliette, having narrowly escaped capture, seeks asylum with the folks of the Deep Down levels. However, her location is revealed to the authorities by Knox, who, in this metaphor, would represent Judas’ betrayal.
This leads to an ultimatum given to Juliette by Bernard, in which he offers to absolve everyone who helped Juliette along the way if she accepts her punishment for cleaning without clarifying her reason why and waiving her rights to a proper hearing. Otherwise, everyone on the Deep Down levels would incur the wrath of the Judicial.
I have to say; this scene was rather tough to stomach because it does raise an important philosophical question: would you give up one life to save ten thousand? I imagine this is the struggle that Bernard and Sims constantly grapple with in attempting to do what is best for the Silo and its citizens. However, this makes them seem cruel in the process.
After her arrest and capture, Juliette is forced to travel up the staircase in chains while the citizens of the Silo watch. I had to look this up, but, apparently, crucifixions back in the day also had audiences watching as the criminal was punished publicly.
The Truth About George’s Death
But, before Juliette faces the consequences of her actions, Bernard makes good on his word to answer the question we have all been asking: was George murdered by the Judicial? In an unprecedented move, he allows Juliette to step into the watchers’ domain and watch the recorded security camera footage of George prior to his death.
In the footage, it is revealed that George knew that his fate would ultimately be torture in order to secure the information about his accomplices. So, he decides to fall to his death, but not before doing something rather peculiar as he looks at the camera before his final moments.
I believe that this gesture was done in the hopes that his work, which he left for Juliette to carry on, would somehow lead her to this room and to this footage. I think this represents that George accepted his death as being a meaningful sacrifice for the greater good of the people and the truth.
I also believe this is the moment that convinces Juliette to accept her own death; as we see later in the Solo Finale episode, she assures those around her that she isn’t scared to go out and clean.
Although it may seem as though Bernard and Sims are evil villains in this entire scenario, I have to wonder if they look that way due to their undying belief in doing what is best for Silo? Because, and we will get into this in the next section.
Are Sims & Bernard Good Guys?
Bernard’s fear of people seeing the Jane Carmody Cleaning video may be out of preventing a rebellion that is fated for disaster. It puts the context of this situation in a different light because this footage is not what it seems.
Maybe this was footage that he implemented into the helmets in order to give every person who goes out to clean some semblance of peace and hope by seeing his version of Heaven. Does that place really exist somewhere in the world, or is it simply just a humane way for people to experience their final few moments?
As for Sims’ reaction to the footage, he seems unaware of the lies that are being perpetuated by Bernard to those that clean. I think this is a pivotal moment when he begins to question his role in the Judicial, and it plants seeds of doubt in serving as Bernard’s shadow. I believe we will see the ramifications of this moment in the second season.
Silo Season Ending Explained
I don’t know about you, but I was a little confused by the sub-plot regarding Walker, the Supply team, and the tape, so I did a little research that will hopefully clarify some things.
Throughout the Ending of Silo Season 1, it is implied that Juliette was previously flagged as an issue due to her involvement in stealing heat tape from the IT department. This was due to her needing the tape to fix problems with the generator. However, the tape was deemed faulty and unusable.
Walker, who believes her tape is far superior to those of the IT department, requests an old friend to swap the faulty heat tape with her durable tape for Juliette’s suit. This explains the cryptic note that Walker inserted into the box of treats given to Juliette by Shirley, and this assures Juliette to trust that her suit will be protected by her tape once she travels outside to clean.
This cements the fact that the suits are purposefully designed by those in charge to fail and effectively kill anyone who cleans. All of this culminates in the epic final moments of the season as the largest audience in Silo’s history attends Juliette’s cleaning.
My jaw, along with everyone else’s in the Silo, dropped once we saw Juliette’s act of rebellion and the result of this huge leap of faith: Juliette becomes the only person in history to survive the outside world and not clean the sensor.
I have to point out the symbolism of the wool, which is typically associated with lambs, and how Jesus’ crucifixion is often compared to him being a sacrificial lamb of sorts for the sins of the people.
Juliette, in this instance, becomes the sacrifice to show people the truth behind the lies and deception touted by the Silo authority figures. Similar to these biblical parallels, there is a moment in which she briefly “dies”, but comes back to life to give the Silo citizens hope and renewed faith.
But, even though Juliette survived, is the outside world any better? Well, not exactly. Because, not only are the displays inside the Silo a lie, but the display within the helmets plays altered footage of a lush, green haven with thriving wildlife. And, I believe that Bernard times the display within the helmets to last for the exact duration it usually takes for the toxic air to get rid of Silo citizens.
Due to Juliette outlasting that timer, she is shown the truth of the world, which is, in fact, desolate and dangerous to live in. This confirms that the Silo authority figures may have been telling the truth about that, but they left out the crucial detail we see in the last few moments of the finale: other Silos exist in the world. This explains that the keychain from episode 9 is a reference to their current Silo being the 18th one to exist.
Final Thoughts & Season 2 Theories
The detail I was the most disappointed in not seeing explored was the mystery behind the metal doors at the bottom of the Silo. And, it looks as though when Juliette brings this up to Bernard, he seems confused and interested in this detail he potentially did not know. Will we see him question his role as the ultimate authoritative figure of the Silo?
I believe this may be the case because he even admits in that conversation with Juliette how mysterious the Founders and their rules are. And, even after shattering the hard drive, Bernard seems to preserve the disk with information, either out of curiosity or guilt.
Regardless, this represents his inner turmoil with his position. And, now that everyone has seen Juliette survive her doomed fate, will this lead to an uproar within the Silo as they will have this newfound curiosity for exploring the outside world now that it is possible?
I think Bernard may begin to lose his grip on the Silo, and I believe more citizens will volunteer to clean, which will throw the power dynamics into disarray and most likely become the main conflict of next season.
As for Juliette’s disciples, what will become of Patrick, the IT guy, and Lukas? My theory is that due to the possible chaos that this revelation will cause, the three of them will hopefully not have to face the consequences of helping Juliette. Their freedom, combined with their faith in Juliette, will probably lead to them spreading her message of questioning the system and inspiring another rebellion to take place.
Also Read: Silo Series Filming Locations: Where Was the Futuristic Thriller Filmed?
