Silo Season 2 Episode 7, “The Dive,” sees Mechanical make a bold move. Who doesn’t love a good rocket launch? Bernard and Robert square off, Juliette risks her life again by going underwater and someone snatches Solo. While the past few episodes have struggled on the pacing front, “The Dive” plants narrative seeds that’ll hopefully blossom in the last three episodes. Bernard will try to get Walk on his side, and new visitors in Silo 17 could spell yet another delay for poor Juliette. Just let my girl go home, y’all.
More interestingly, though, is what Bernard believes is on the horizon that will be worse than the rebellion. What was Salvador Quinn trying to conceal with his code?
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Silo, “The Dive”
We open with Bernard (Tim Robbins) showing Lukas (Avi Nash) the Legacy room in a vault identical to the one in which Solo lives. Bernard shows Lukas his new quarters, where he’ll have a comfortable bed and decent food. He wants Lukas to familiarize himself with the Legacy as he attempts to crack Salvador Quinn’s code. The AI also recognizes Lukas as Bernard’s shadow. Further in, we reach a sizable library containing the relics of human history.
At the same time, Knox (Shane McRae) picks up gunpowder from Mark (George Robinson). Shirley (Remmie Milner) and Teddy (Olatunji Ayofe) collect pieces of paper from those in Mechanical. Meanwhile, Bernard introduces Lukas to his new best friend — an iPad-like tablet with all the books in the library in digital form. He instructs Lukas to simply ask the tablet what he’s searching for. Bernard brings up archives regarding codes and ciphers as a jumping-off point for Lukas.
Rocket Fuel
Elsewhere, Shirley, Knox, Walk (Harriet Walter), Teddy and the others send a rocket hurtling upward toward the Up Top. A shower of paper slips bursts forth, falling on the denizens of the Silo. Said slips boast a message. Bernard races toward the disturbance and grabs a scrap of paper. It says, “I.T. lies to us. Mechanical wants the truth. What happened to Juliette? How did Meadows really die? What is I.T. hiding? Look and see.”
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Suddenly, Knox and Shirley switch off the power. The residents note that while the rest of the Silo is submerged in darkness, IT remains in the light. Someone asks why IT still has power. Bernard barrels toward IT as the crowd cries out for answers.
Meanwhile, in Silo 17, Solo (Steve Zahn) explains to Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) what she’ll have to do to fix the underwater water pump. Juliette asks if he has a waterproof cable to help her breathe. Also, can he retrieve her suit? She reminds him that her people could die any day now. Solo has months before the water reaches the vault. Perhaps she returns home to save Silo 18 and then circles back to help Solo.
Solo doesn’t like this idea. He presents potential outcomes should Juliette pursue that route. What if she dies on the way to her Silo? What if her people kill her?
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Gunpowder and Poison
Later, Paul (Chinaza Uche) and Hank (Billy Postlethwaite) confront Shirley and Knox following their stunt. Our Mechanical duo insists they need to recruit allies. Their message had to be cast far and wide. They suggest Paul and Hank pivot to more important matters, such as who poisoned the food.
Next, Bernard questions Carla (Clare Perkins), who’s in Judicial seclusion. He removes her blindfold. He wants to know about the gunpowder supply in Mechanical. How much do they have? Carla will only answer if Bernard tells her if Shirley, Knox and Walk are safe. Bernard won’t budge on this, though, so he leaves.
Doing Business
Meanwhile, Robert (Common) makes a pancake for his son, Anthony (Oscar Coleman). Camille (Alexandria Riley) joins them in the kitchen. Unfortunately, Anthony isn’t hungry, though. He clings to the PEZ dispenser — you know the one — that Robert gave him. He tells Anthony that people would hold the relic for comfort in the Before Times. Camille sends Anthony to his room before confronting Robert. Why would he give their son a relic?
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The conversation pivots to Bernard and the rebellion. Robert wants to talk to Bernard, but Camille insists that if he approaches Bernard, he’s doing the latter a kindness. Now, if Robert waits for Bernard to come to him, he’s “doing business.” Robert still doesn’t know about Camille helping Shirley and Knox.
Then, in true Solo fashion, Solo rattles off advice he gleaned after reading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Juliette questions why she must risk her life (again) to fix Solo’s water pump. Shouldn’t he save his own Silo? Solo insists that, as IT shadow, he must stay above water. It’s his job to protect this place. Only Juliette can repair the water pump. Solo begs her to help him. Juliette gives in and decides to forge ahead.
Keep the Peace
Later, Walk rummages through a box in her shop. She finds a framed photo of Carla. She tosses it aside, smashing the glass in the frame. We see the wheels turn in Walk’s head. She wants information on Carla’s whereabouts. Bernard addresses the deputies regarding the “assault” launched by the rebels. Sandy (Chipo Chung) asks Bernard about the message from Mechanical. Why did the power remain on in IT? Bernard whips out a plausible lie to satisfy her. Well, if anything, it makes Sandy and the others more suspicious.
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Bernard instructs them to continue keeping the peace on their levels and leave the rebellion to Judicial. Meanwhile, Paul and Hank question a Down Deeper about the poisoned food. He finally admits that they have listeners. There’s also a place in the scavenge room where someone leaves notes. One of the collection bins boasts a hollow handle. Unfortunately, the man doesn’t know the identity of the note dispenser. However, this person left a note that day — an order.
Next, we see the generator is running again. Knox playfully asks Shirley why she kissed him. She insists he made the first move. Before we can get to the bottom of the kiss, though, Paul and Hank interrupt. They reveal they must take the pair into custody. Why? The aforementioned order left in the scavenge room was a death threat against Shirley and Knox.
Fix the Pump
Then, Bernard asks Amundsen (Christian Ochoa) why he has no warrant to search Supply. Amundsen reveals that Judge Sims hasn’t signed off on it yet. In Silo 17, Solo gives Juliette weighted boots to assist with her dive to the water pump. He also presents her with modified welder’s goggles to help her see underwater. Said goggles boast a flashlight, too. Solo is in charge of pumping air through the breathing apparatus as Juliette descends (again) into the waters below.
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Elsewhere, Bernard confronts Robert regarding the warrant. Robert refuses to approve it. Bernard promoted Robert to judge, hoping they wouldn’t have to interact again. He’d give Robert the illusion of power to keep him at bay. Robert picks at an old wound — getting passed over as Bernard’s shadow. Bernard pours salt in that wound by revealing that Lukas is now his shadow.
Both men throw the other under a microscope for dissection. Robert believes Bernard has few allies by his side. He’s alone. Bernard turns the tables on Robert by disclosing Camille’s involvement in seeing the Mechanical fugitives to safety. In the Down Deep, Hank asks Frances (Sacharissa Claxton) if she knows any rats in Mechanical. After all, someone has an open line of communication with the Up Top. In the background, we see Kathleen (Caitlin Zoz) tend to Patrick (Rick Gomez).
Dive Down Deeper
Frances refuses to divulge what she knows. Well, whether she knows any potential rats. She tells Hank to f*ck off. Meanwhile, Solo keeps watch over the winch as Juliette descends deeper underwater. Juliette fastens the ropes attached to her to a railing before trudging ahead.
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Hank returns to the deputy station after his chat with Frances. Shirley insists Frances was always going to be a dead end. Paul starts looking for a list of those with access to the scavenge room since that’s where the listeners receive notes. Shirley tells Knox they should send a note to whoever wants to kill them. This interaction morphs into more flirting because these crazy kids are in love, I tell ya.
As she barges into the station, Walk remarks that they look like they’re having fun. She demands to know more about Judicial seclusion. Paul admits he worked in Judicial but not in seclusion. He tries to dissuade her from probing further into the matter. However, Walk presses on. Paul tells her that those who go into seclusion don’t come out. That’s not what Walk wants to hear. She’s already hard on herself for walking out on her marriage to Carla 25 years ago.
The Culprit
Juliette makes her way toward the water pump while Kathleen informs Paul and Hank about increasing unrest in the cafeteria. After fixing the water pump, Juliette trudges back to her anchor point to make her ascent. In the cafeteria, Frances and the others accuse Maeve of poisoning their food supply. Maeve brandishes a knife in the direction of the crowd. Hank tries to pacify Maeve. Look at this — de-escalation in action.
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We learn that the barricade affected medicinal transport for Maeve’s mother, who’s unwell. She’s now in Medical. Maeve admits that those Up Top threatened her mom if Maeve didn’t do what they said. So, she poisoned the food and sent out the kill order for Shirley and Knox. However, she alerted her fellow Down Deepers about said poisoned food. She didn’t want to betray them. Maeve begs for them not to kill her.
Knox reassures her that they won’t kill her or send her to the mines. They’ll ensure her mother is safe. However, they’ll give her the tough jobs and give her sh*t about it for a while. Shirley insists that Maeve being “one of them” still means something.
It’s All About the Numbers
Elsewhere, Lukas has been hard at work deciphering Salvador’s code. Suddenly, a revelation strikes him — perhaps the cipher is numerical. Each number corresponds with the page number in a specific book. Lukas believes the page number is 77. He shares his progress with Bernard. Bernard asks Lukas if he tested this theory against the books in the Legacy.
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Lukas insists there weren’t any matches in the Legacy. He believes Salvador used a book outside the Legacy to create the code — one that’s at least 140 years old and maybe even belonged to him. Bernard pulls out Meadows’ copy of The Wizard of Oz. They can start there.
Meanwhile, Robert confronts Camille about her secret. She explains herself. Bernard just swore Robert in as Meadows’ replacement. Robert was trying to bring Bernard back to his side. However, making friends is smart, too, even if they’re rebels. Camille insists she was trying to protect Robert by not disclosing this to him. She wanted Bernard to believe she took matters into her own hands.
Camille asserts that playing both sides is their best bet for now. They don’t know how this will shake out. Robert lays down the law. They don’t play each other, and they make moves together or not at all.
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Troubled Waters
Later, Juliette removes the ropes she initially fastened to the railing. This action rings the bell outside. However, Solo isn’t there to receive Juliette’s alert. Unfortunately, the rope with the weight she was standing on slips through her fingers. She tries to take a breath through her breathing apparatus, only to realize she has no air. Solo isn’t pumping air for her. She casts aside said apparatus and kicks off her weighted boots before swimming upward to the surface as quickly as possible.
Then, Walk repairs her camera in her shop and reinstalls it. She’s determined to send a message to the Up Top herself. Paul mentioned earlier he doesn’t trust anyone to check on Carla in Judicial seclusion. Walk quickly changes her mind, though, uninstalling the camera.
Thankfully, Juliette gets her head above water before she passes out from lack of oxygen. She looks up at where Solo is supposed to be to learn he’s MIA. Amundsen informs Bernard about Walk’s camera going live for 30 seconds before she deactivated it.
Leverage
Amundsen shows Bernard his research in the Watcher Room. He was trying to retrace Carla’s steps in the days leading up to the rocket launch. How did she move all that gunpowder from Supply? Then, Amundsen sees footage from when Walk and Carla were in a holding cell. He notices they’re holding hands. Bernard realizes that Carla means something to Walk. He can leverage that to get what he wants.
Juliette makes her way to the bridge leading to Solo’s vault. She spies streaks and smudges of blood, a hatchet and rope that someone cut. Solo is nowhere to be found. Uh-oh.
A stranger stalks the Silo.
Silo drops new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+
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