Silo Season 2 Episode 5, “Descent,” kicks the action into high gear as Shirley and Knox evade capture, Bernard moves pieces on the political chessboard to his benefit and Juliette finds more cracks in Solo’s story. It’s as action-packed as it is rich in narrative development and compelling performances.
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Silo, “Descent”
We open with the masses in a frenzy as they attempt to track down Shirley (Remmie Milner), Knox (Shane McRae), Walk (Harriet Walter) and Carla (Clare Perkins) for the murder of Judge Meadows (Tanya Moodie). If you recall, Bernard (Tim Robbins) killed poor Meadows and framed Knox and Shirley for it. The aforementioned four hide while the mob searches for them. Shirley claims they can’t barrel through the crowd, while Knox asserts it’s the only way back to the Down Deep.
However, Carla has a solution: the porters. She claims they only need to descend two levels to find a spot to ride out the search. Meanwhile, Robert (Common) and Camille (Alexandria Riley) receive an unexpected visitor. Bernard pops by for coffee. He asks Camille what Robert tells her about his job. She lies, claiming her raider days are behind her. She’s solely focused on her job in IT and their son. Bernard asks the pair to grab their copy of The Pact. With it, Bernard swears Robert in as the new Judge.
A Search and a Hideout
Later, Carla introduces Shirley, Knox and Walk to Calvin (Jon Chew), who asks for an item of Juliette’s as compensation for allowing them to hide in his shop. A bottle of booze from the Before Times won’t work.
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Next, Solo (Steve Zahn) asks Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) what she’s doing. Since she couldn’t find a helmet for her firefighter suit, she’s trying to attach her old helmet to said suit. The conversation pivots to the concerning amount of water rising from the bottom. If Solo doesn’t see to it, it’ll submerge the whole silo. Juliette reveals the nearest groundwater pump is on Level 30, which is also underwater.
Solo begs Juliette to help him fix it. However, she’s on a time crunch, and Solo has at least 10 months until the water becomes a major problem. Juliette prioritizes her issue, heading to the suitroom to see if she can find another helmet.
The Bounty
Elsewhere in the Watcher Room, Amundsen (Christian Ochoa) reports to Bernard. He reveals that he’s sent a team of raiders disguised as civilians to rile up the silo’s denizens to find our fab four. The reward for Knox and Shirley is 1,000 credits each. Bernard orders Amundsen to erect a barricade on Level 130 should our heroes elude the mob. Bernard and Amundsen learn that the four are on Level 70.
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Then, Walk hands Calvin one of Juliette’s prized possessions. Throw in the refrigeration coils and old booze, and Carla has a deal. They shake on it. Calvin reveals the plan is to have them hide in the grain bins. After all, the mill on Level 59 malfunctions every other week. Carla counters that Knox is rather large and probably won’t fit.
Suddenly, Knox returns, declaring that raiders are on their way to this location. Carla can’t believe Calvin called Judicial on them. Calvin admits he planned to help them, but the bounty on their heads was too significant to pass up. Outside, Carla and Walk claim the group should split up. After all, the bounty is on Shirley and Knox.
New Positions
Meanwhile, Paul (Chinaza Uche) tells Hank (Billy Postlethwaite) about the message he received from the new Head of Judicial Security — Amundsen. He adds that Robert is now the Judge. Paul fills Hank in on Meadows’ murder and Shirley and Knox being accused of carrying it out.
Carla encourages Walk to head home. Nobody above 125 knows who she is, anyway. As Head of Supply, though, Carla is easier to recognize. Walk kisses Carla before returning to the Down Deep. Elsewhere, Dr. Nichols (Iain Glen) tends to the wounded. There, he meets Kathleen (Caitlin Zoz), Paul’s wife. Kathleen has been worried about her husband since he went down to Mechanical. A handful of raiders urge Nichols to accompany them on official business.
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Meanwhile, Robert and Camille disguise the bounty on the fugitives and Amundsen taking over as Head of Judicial Security. Camille doesn’t feel Amundsen is up to the challenge. The silo needs the best of the best, like Robert, at the helm. As for Nichols, Bernard summoned him to hand over Juliette’s belongings, like her watch. He fears if they return to circulation, they’ll be venerated and coveted, causing more unrest among the masses.
Trust Must Go Both Ways
Then, Bernard mentions that he feels he can trust Nichols, a respected doctor who does his duty to the silo. Nichols asks what would happen if he refuses. He admits that lying to prospective parents by not removing the birth control tears him up inside. He does his job not for the silo but to retain some sense of professional integrity. Plus, the silo has already taken his wife, son and daughter — he has nothing else to lose. Naturally, Bernard doesn’t like hearing this.
Juliette asks Solo about his real name. Solo states it’s Cole Myers. However, his nickname, “Solo,” happened to stick. While on the hunt for that helmet, Juliette doubles over in pain. Solo assumes she’s hungry and makes a mad dash for the vault to fetch food. However, something else is at play. Elsewhere, Robert gets a tour of the Judge’s office, a place he knows all too well.
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As for Bernard, his meeting dance card is quite full. He brings Lukas (Avi Nash) up from the mines with a proposition. He wants Lukas to reassemble the smashed hard drive Juliette had on her person and figure out what’s on it. Bernard claims he no longer has the luxury of ignorance.
Locked Out
Then, Robert confronts Amundsen after discovering he no longer has the code to the Watcher Room. Amundsen reassures Robert that the hunt for Knox and Shirley is well-managed. They’re employing the method Robert implemented by having raiders disguise themselves as civilians to foment unrest among the masses. Hey, that should flatter Robert.
Shirley and Knox run into the mob, but before said mob can swallow them whole, Camille comes to their aid. She claims she’ll take them to Judicial herself. However, she whispers in Knox’s ear that she plans to save them. That’s an interesting development.
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Later, Juliette discovers a memorandum while searching for the helmet. In it, someone asks whoever stole said helmet to return it, no questions asked. It also declares that they can rise above the violence instead of partaking in it. At the same time, Camille takes Shirley and Knox to a janitor, asking the latter to go to work early so our Mechanical duo can hide out. She doesn’t explain why she’s helping them, only that there’s a barricade on Level 130 and where there are still working cameras.
Janitorial Closet Confessions
Next, Paul sits in the deputy station in the Down Deep with Hank. His hands shake as he holds a copy of The Pact. They chat about Hank’s friends being declared killers and Paul’s condition. Hank pivots, adding he has a line on Patrick Kennedy.
Meanwhile, the janitor urges Shirley and Knox to clear out before Camille returns. He’s not doing this as a favor to her. He’s only helping them out because he’s afraid of her. After he departs, Knox and Shirley discuss whether every department feels they’re the ones keeping the silo running. Shirley admits Knox is a good leader, while Knox believes his method of approach was incorrect. Shirley states they were screwed either way.
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Then, Paul and Hank chat with Patrick Kennedy’s niece in the cafeteria, demanding to know his location. He’s not gonna survive much longer on hot meals alone.
Camille’s Move
Elsewhere, Robert and Camille lie in bed together. Robert reveals his first day as Judge was about signing where directed. He adds that Amundsen wouldn’t let him into the Watcher Room. However, he knows three of the suspects are still at large. Camille says that if Robert was still in charge, they would’ve been caught hours ago. Girl, you gave them a place to hide.
After this, Shirley and Knox emerge from the Janitorial closet. Knox claims they must go home sometime, so they should hit the stairs and run like hell. Shirley suggests they ascend the stairs instead of descending. Amundsen informs Bernard about Camille stashing Knox and Shirley on Level 73, claiming she was worried about them being “strung up.” Bernard is not a happy camper. He orders Amundsen to find them.
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Next, Juliette searches an apartment, the one from which the stolen helmet came. There, she discovers a framed picture of Solo and Tiny. Hmm…
A Love Letter in Code
Then, Lukas calls Bernard in to report his findings. Thus far, Lukas explains he found fragments of the hard drive that overlap with what’s already in their database. He shows Bernard a map, which features lines outside the silo’s walls. There’s also something on the IT and Judicial levels. But wait — there’s more. Lukas discovered something at the very bottom of the silo. A tunnel, perhaps. Bernard urges him to keep at it. Lukas has earned another 24 hours outside the mines.
Lukas adds he found a love letter from Salvador Quinn to his wife that started out pretty steamy and descended into peculiarity — the rest is in code. Elsewhere, Paul and Hank find Patrick Kennedy (Rick Gomez), who’s nursing a nasty wound from the ex-raider shooting outside the deputy station. Paul gives Patrick a page from the Georgia-themed book he saved before burning said book. In return, Patrick vows to disclose everything he knows to Paul while agreeing to receive treatment.
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Then, Shirley and Knox tie up Calvin while disguising themselves as porters. They speed down the stairs. One of Bernard’s crew in the Watcher Room alerts Amundsen about two porters on Level 92, who urges the former to inform Bernard.
Solo and Trina
Later, Solo finds Juliette in Trina Samuel’s apartment, where she’s searching for the stolen helmet. Juliette claims that Trina, aka “Tiny,” was Solo’s girlfriend. Solo reveals he hasn’t thought about Trina in a long time. He deflects, asking Juliette if she wants chicken or beef. “Why are you lying to me?” Juliette asks point-blank. She shows Solo the photo of Solo and Trina. Then, she reveals the document about Cole Myers, the IT shadow.
Suddenly, Solo explodes, declaring that he is the IT shadow. He screams at Juliette, ordering her not to say “those words” to him. He’s Solo and the IT shadow. Juliette’s reaction to getting violently screamed at is so profoundly real. Also, Zahn never fails to impress me with his performance this season. Solo snaps out of it, realizing he went too far. He tries to give Juliette food. She rejects it, stating she doesn’t feel well.
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Next, Shirley and Knox scale down several levels of stairs with materials from their porter disguise. Amundsen cuts Knox’s cable, which swings down and scrapes across his back. Fellow civilians on the lower levels try to help Knox and Shirley over the edge. Amundsen also tosses something quite heavy, hoping it hits one of them. Thankfully, Knox ducks out of the way.
The Riot Is the Start
Meanwhile, two mobs congregate at the barricade on Level 130. They knock down said barricade. Walk tries to wend her way through the melee. Elsewhere, the raiders pick up Carla, which Bernard sees on camera. Bernard is irate to learn that Shirley and Knox escaped under cover of the ensuing riots.
Bernard contacts Paul and reveals the Mechanical fugitives are now the latter’s problem. He knows he can count on Paul to fulfill his duty and bring them in. Paul vows to do just that. At the same time, we see Paul and Hank with Patrick and his niece. Patrick is receiving treatment for his wound.
As for Juliette, she finally finds the stolen helmet. However, she notices the gnarly wound on her arm has become infected, hence why she feels ill. She collapses while trudging through the apartment.
Silo drops new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+
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