silo works best when it deals with the psychological impact of living under a monarchy – that’s exactly what it is – in a closed underground bunker with no escape. And yet it seems like escape is what everyone is looking for. Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) is desperate to get out of Silo 17 and return home, fearing that the loved ones she left behind will spark a deadly revolution. In Silo 18, Sheriff Paul (Chinaza Uche), Shirley (Remmie Milner), Knox (Shane McRae), Lukas (Avi Nash) and several others dare to dream of a life outside. So it’s no surprise that her ideas and actions come to fruition in the penultimate part of season two, even if it took a few drawn-out episodes to get there.

“The Safeguard” also adds more context to Juliette’s empathetic personality and provides answers to Solo’s (Steve Zahn) story. It ends on a stunning cliffhanger that could and probably will completely change the premise of the series. There’s still a certain level of incredulity surrounding the episode, as if we’re expected to believe that Mayor Bernard (Tim Robbins) has nothing better to do with his day. Is he sitting around watching Martha Walker (Harriet Walter) on a screen like a mustache-twirling villain during an impending rebellion and not meeting his shadow, to whom he has given an important task? Give me a break. But the wins here seem far more exciting than the losses given how season two has progressed.

Let’s get the Silo 18 discussion out of the way first because of the aforementioned shocking final scene. Luke’s tireless efforts to decipher Salvador Quinn’s code have yielded results thanks to Quinn’s copy of the pact. He learned about the 50 other silos, information that Bernard was already privy to. But Lukas doesn’t tell his IT boss that Quinn’s message contains a big secret: there is a tunnel at the bottom of the bunker. Everyone believes that the water there is too deep, but it is another lie that those in power have told the residents to hide the existence of a possible path to the other silos. Although there’s a good chance Bernard knows about the tunnel too, right?

Lukas quickly goes to the lower floors and convinces Shirley with his sincerity in wanting to save Juliette, confessing that he kissed her before she was caught. Feeling guilty about not helping Juliette, he willingly risks his life to find this tunnel. silo didn’t really flesh out the chemistry between Juliette and Lukas in the first season, but the script at least developed him enough in the second season to make his actions in “The Safeguard” believable. Again, this is the kind of character development that I wish several others, particularly from Mechanical, could achieve with force rather than thumping in their storylines. Anyway, it’s good that Lukas steps in, because the water levels only reach up to the knee. In contrast to Silo 17, the pumps here work perfectly. And lo and behold, Luke – who suffered in the mines and sealed his fate – is now standing at the gate.

An AI voice quickly stops him and says that only three people have reached this point: Salvador Quinn, Mary Meadows (Tanya Moodie), and Juliette’s ex George Wilkins (Ferdinand Kingsley). Quinn and Meadows were given the same instructions as Lukas is now, which is that if he tells anyone about his discovery, something called “The Safeguard” will be activated. Whatever that means, it sounds terrible, especially because there’s a good chance Lukas will tell someone, most likely Shirley. I can’t wait for the finale to reveal – and better yet – what secrets lurk in this tunnel. Since it may take some time for the water in Silo 17 to reduce, it won’t be as easy as just walking over it, right?

Meanwhile, Paul’s efforts to contact Camille (Alexandria Riley) lead to a surprising result. Paul, Knox and Shirley conclude that if Camille had helped them once, she might be inclined to do it again. Instead, however, Robert (Common) shows up at the barricade meeting point, ready to listen to Paul after Bernard abandons him. Look, I’ve complained enough about Common’s inability to bring all of Robert’s complex emotions to life. This remains the case in “The Safeguard”. The actor doesn’t lead me to believe that Robert would be so quick to switch sides or be willing to help out, even though Camille wisely tells him he can take advantage of the situation. But it’s clear that Bernard no longer has any major allies. This guy should be thinking about self-preservation, not grinning at the computer.

While all this is going down in Silo 18, Juliette is one step closer to returning. That is, once she figures out the tiny detail that three people are trying to kill her. She meets people who are essentially family, except for one of them. Flashbacks show how these Silo 17 survivors have been watching Juliette since she arrived at her bunker, and show her ringleader’s attempts to kill her. But it’s not Juliette they want dead. It is Solo who murdered his friends when they tried to break into the vault in search of food.

After much verbal back and forth and negotiation, Juliette is released so she can walk around and figure out the safe’s code. In the process, she bonds with the Lone Eater, who reveals that the nickname is because the others see her as just another mouth to feed. It might be one of the saddest dialogues I’ve ever heard silo until now. Juliette also comes across a hidden suit that she was looking for to get safely across Earth. Solo conveniently never mentioned it, but she doesn’t hold it against him.

Juliette, our compassionate queen, has formed an emotional bond with Solo despite her rocky start. She fully understands his fragile mental state. Instead of yelling at him or leaving him alone with the newbies, she calms him down and gently reminds him that he’s not the IT shadow. In reality he is Jimmy, the son of Russell Conroy, who was IT chief during the uprising. Solo was only 12 years old when it happened. In flashbacks, we see how he stayed in the vault in panic and fear instead of opening the door to let his father in and save him. Then he watched his father get shot and die. The poor guy has remained within these walls ever since. Juliette has already figured this out, but it’s still an incredible moment when Solo confesses. Steve Zahn and Ferguson are truly the acting saving graces silo. Their scenes together are remarkably sweet. That shoulder touch!

After Solo tearfully explains to the other survivors how their friends died, there is no longer any bad blood between the others. They all enter the vault to eat ice cream and listen to music, much to the children’s delight. Juliette doesn’t indicate that she’s leaving right away, but maybe she won’t have to if Lukas comes here in the future. Also, Solo may know how Juliette can communicate with Silo 18. After that insane cliffhanger, the possibilities are endless. I’ll be impressed if silo concludes this season satisfyingly and reunites Juliette with her loved ones, but “The Safeguard” does a great job of raising expectations.

Crazy observations

• • Did Audrey, Rick and Eater know that Silo 17 would be flooded in less than a year and that Juliette just saved their asses? I hope she tells them in the finale.
• • Likewise, I wonder if Solo knew other people were still alive. And if so, why didn’t he tell or warn Juliette?
• • Paul is additionally motivated to support Mechanical because his wife also wants to learn about the outside world. Patrick Kennedy also encourages her by reminding her what Juliette’s last words were.
• • Knox finds out that Walker is the mole. I appreciate him not blowing her cover, but at the same time making it clear to her that he understands why she did it. To top it all off, he Also hatches a false plan for Bernard to overhear. Knox has climbed up the list of my favorites silo Characters along with Paul Billings.
• •Compliments to the production design that focused on the differences between the Silo 18 and 17 safes. The former appears almost clinical and new-looking, while Solo’s home appears lived-in.
• • Do you think Martha Walker ever changes her hairstyle?
• • On a scale of one to ten, how big a mistake is Paul making by trusting Robert to cover for her?