Silo Season 2 Episode 6, “Barricades,” finds the rebellion growing stronger in our titular Silo as Shirley and Knox move the barricade to their advantage. Meanwhile, Bernard tries his best to corner the Mechanical fugitives. Robert realizes how little power he actually has, and Solo manipulates a convalescing Juliette to do another potentially life-threatening mission. “Barricades” is a solid episode that, if incrementally, pushes the narrative forward. The performances really bolster this outing, too.
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Silo, “Barricades”
We open with Teddy (Olatunji Ayofe) stumbling upon an angry group of Silo denizens as they stand on the other side of the barricade on Level 130. He asks one woman why they’re there. She informs him that raiders have been withholding their food deliveries. This group is demanding the raiders “let them through.”
Meanwhile, Shirley (Remmie Milner) tends to Knox’s (Shane McRae) shoulder wound in Walk’s (Harriet Walter) shop. He complains about the pain. Shirley jokes that she should invite all of Mechanical to watch him “cry” about it. Knox vows to Walk that they’ll free Carla. They won’t let Judicial get to her. Walk looks dejected. After this, Knox introduces Shirley to his friend Mark (George Robinson), who has specially made weapons for our Mechanical heroes.
Dirty Tricks
Then, Shirley and Knox chat with a woman in the cafeteria who oversees their food deliveries. So, it appears the raiders finally allowed the Down Deep to get their food. However, they’ve smeared it with rat poison. The woman gestures to a dead mouse as evidence of the name for the blue powder coating their produce and fruit.
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Later, Sheriff Paul Billings (Chinaza Uche) and Hank (Billy Postlethwaite) oversee Patrick Kennedy’s (Rick Gomez) treatment. They bring in the shadow of the doctor normally on duty in the Down Deep. Patrick doesn’t trust someone inexperienced to treat him. So, Paul messages his wife for help, to which she responds she knows a doctor. Paul urges her to stay where she is and simply send said doctor down.
During this message exchange, Paul chats with Hank about Shirley and Knox’s innocence. Paul still plans to hand them over to Judicial. Paul asserts that if they’re the upstanding citizens Hank claims they are, they’ll turn themselves in.
Innocence
Elsewhere, Knox and Shirley address a raging crowd in the cafeteria. They reassure the group that they’re innocent. Bernard and Robert framed them for Judge Meadows’ murder. When the increasingly agitated masses refuse to believe them, Walk steps in, wondering aloud if they’d also want her to go outside. Do they want to see her hang, too? Regardless, as Mechanical and residents of the Down Deep, they must defend their own.
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Teddy alleviates the tension by bringing in produce and fruit from the trash chute. Apparently, they have friends in high places who want to lend a hand. Shirley reads the accompanying note with the food, which ends with, “Juliette lives.” Everyone cheers.
Next, Amundsen (Christian Ochoa) informs Bernard (Tim Robbins) that Mechanical’s allies are sending food down the trash chutes. Bernard insists this is a good thing; it accelerates their timeline. He orders Amundsen to post raiders at every chute access point. Meanwhile, Shirley questions what would happen if they changed the barricade from 130 to 120.
What Happened to Carla?
Then, Paul and Hank visit Walk in her shop. They question her about the firebombing of the deputy station and Knox and Shirley’s potential involvement in Meadows’ murder. Walk refuses to answer their questions unless they ensure Carla’s safety. She begs them to look into her whereabouts before slamming the door on them.
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Later, Kathleen (Caitlin Zoz) asks Dr. Nichols (Iain Glen) to accompany her to the Down Deep to treat Patrick Kennedy. They encounter an issue with the raiders stationed outside the barricade. However, she rattles off a lie about The Pact to get the raiders to grant them passage. Meanwhile, Lukas (Avi Nash) updates Bernard on his progress regarding Salvador Quinn’s complex code. Lukas explains his methods for cracking said code. Bernard remarks that he’s using the Caesar shift before urging Lukas to keep at it.
Bernard pops by his old stomping grounds, IT, to chat with Camille (Alexandria Riley). He claims he heard that Camille housed the Mechanical fugitives. Camille asserts she wasn’t necessarily protecting them. Bernard adds that Robert sanctioned the Silo masses to hunt down said fugitives. He wonders what Robert would think about Camille making such a move. Camille lies, insisting her husband already knows. After all, he’s the judge now. This scene is so tense.
Shields and Weapons
Elsewhere, Knox, Shirley and others from Mechanical don shields and boast weaponry before parking themselves outside the barricade. One of the raiders on the other side radios Amundsen to request advanced tactical defense implements like guns. Diego (Akie Kotabe) tries to inform Amundsen about intel from his aunt on 135. However, Amundsen ignores Diego.
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Then, Kathleen and Nichols arrive to tend to Patrick. Paul is taken aback to see his wife and child. Paul holds baby Claire while Kathleen assists Nichols. They remove the bullet. Meanwhile, Diego contacts Robert (Common) to disclose his aunt’s intel. She saw some Down Deepers marching toward the barricade with weapons while others headed in the other direction. The second group also had a saw that could cut through concrete.
Robert marches to Bernard’s office to find Lukas inside. He demands to know why Lukas isn’t toiling away in the mines. Lukas lies, claiming he’s assisting Bernard with programming. He doesn’t know where Bernard is. After this, Robert visits Camille in IT. She silently leaves her desk to chat with him. Camille ponders over the idea of a Mechanical team cutting through the floor. Bernard and Amundsen don’t know about this.
Make Moves
Camille reminds Robert he can’t do anything now as the judge. Robert not-so-subtly presses Camille, as a former raider, to take a stand. Meanwhile, Knox motions to one Down Deeper to, presumably, drill. Amundsen arrives outside the barricade, wondering where the drilling is coming from.
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Later, after Nichols and Kathleen finish treating Patrick, Paul asks everyone to leave the apartment. He sits with Patrick. He threatens Patrick, demanding to know what the latter knows. Patrick explains how he assisted Juliette before her Cleaning and the footage from the hard drive they shared with all the residents on their computers. Patrick claims it was unlike anything he’d ever seen — even better than the page from the Georgia tourism book. It’s ineffable.
This footage showed the Silo a world that’s possible. Of course, as Juliette knows, the world outside the Silo doesn’t actually look like paradise. Patrick also explains how Robert orchestrated the firebombing at the deputy station. As a reward for Patrick’s participation, Robert vowed to give him a memory-erasing drug that would wipe out the last two decades of memories. Of course, it’s abundantly clear that Robert had no plans to uphold his end of the bargain.
An Ambush
Next, Bernard visits the morgue, where he talks to Meadows’ corpse. He mourns her loss and regrets killing her. He never intended for her to be collateral damage in all this. Gotta love the “I didn’t want to kill you, but I had to” excuse.
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Camille dons her raider gear and joins Amundsen and the raiders near the barricade. She informs Amundsen of the impending ambush. “They’re coming up through the floor,” she says. Sure enough, Teddy drills through the floor to give Shirley and her team access to 120 as Knox and his crew hold the barricade on 130. Shirley tries to pacify the residents on 120, who insist that this is their level. Amundsen spots Shirley and her crew before ordering his raiders to descend upon them.
This distraction gives Knox and his team the opportunity to destroy the barricade on 130. They use a grappling hook and wire to yank the doors off. After the destruction of the barricade, the two teams barrel toward Amundsen, weapons raised, before converging on 120. They meet Amundsen and his raiders there. Knox insists they’ll kill every last one of the opposition if need be. Shirley declares the new barricade should be on 120, to which Amundsen reluctantly agrees.
Paul Rebels
Naturally, Bernard is enraged after Amundsen updates him following the confrontation. There’s a farm on Level 122, which the Down Deep has now commandeered by moving the barricade. No more food with rat poisoning for them. Meanwhile, Paul updates Walk regarding Clara’s status. He and Hank checked in with every deputy station to see if one of them processed Carla.
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However, none of them have her. Paul surmises that Carla was taken into seclusion since she’s a “high-risk suspect.” Walk insists Carla won’t last long; she has health problems. Meanwhile, Knox and Shirley return to the Down Deep. They toast to their success that day. Shirley pulls Knox in for a kiss. They makeout for a spell before Paul interrupts. Shirley, I get it. I’m a Knox girlie, too.
Anyway, Paul informs them about what Walk said. He radios Bernard in front of them, claiming he’s zeroed in on the “Mechanical fugitives.” However, he refuses to divulge their location. Paul wants to open a full investigation into Judge Meadows’ murder and its connection to the firebombing of Hank’s deputy station.
Upholding the Law
Bernard immediately orders his team to disconnect all radio communications in the Silo. Uh-oh. He’s got another rebel sheriff on his hands. After this, Shirley and Knox thank Paul for not throwing them under the bus. Paul insists he’s not on their side or Bernard’s. He’s doing this to uphold the law. Later, Paul sits with his wife and daughter in the cafeteria. Kathleen commends him for doing the right thing. She pivots, asking him about his herbs. Has he taken them for his condition?
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Paul can’t recall the last time he took said herbs. Kathleen asks him to examine his hand as he holds a glass of water. It isn’t shaking like normal. Paul wonders why his symptoms have, at least temporarily, abated.
Meanwhile, Bernard checks in on Lukas’ progress. Lukas is on the right track — they find “Silo” misspelled and “Allie,” the name of Salvador Quinn’s daughter. Bernard believes this is a code within a code. It’s too complicated. Lukas will need to see the Legacy to figure it out. Thus, Bernard swears Lukas in as his shadow before showing him the Legacy.
Juliette Lives
Nichols visits Walk in her shop. They haven’t seen each other in decades. Nichols asks if Walk believes Juliette is alive. While she doesn’t think so, the advanced heat tape allowed her to live longer than most who venture outside. The idea of keeping her alive and the tape is more for those who loved her, like Nichols, Walk, Mechanical, etc. Little do they know she does live.
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Later, Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) wakes up after falling unconscious. Solo (Steve Zahn) has been treating her arm infection. He urges her to eat something. However, she’s consumed by the desire to leave. She asks for the helmet she found before passing out.
Solo orders Juliette to fix the water pump before she goes. She reminds him that 10,000 lives are at stake. She must reunite with her people. Solo refuses to let her leave before she finds a solution to his water pump problem. He asks her to think of it as a favor — he saved her life, now she must save his.
Silo drops new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+
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