Let’s face it, the first season of Silo caught you by surprise in the best way possible, right? The Apple TV+ sci-fi series about a futuristic underground society, based on the trilogy of books by Hugh Howey, went stealthily about its business. Like the multi-levelled silos that the characters dwell in, unable to go to the surface for fear of what might happen, this was a show with hidden depths. It’s perhaps the closest thing we’ve had to a Lost successor, the desert-island drama that came packed with plenty of conspiracy theories.
With season two, showrunner Graham Yost has no intention of easing us gently back into the world of Silo by offering a comfy catch-up episode to get reacquainted with the roll call of characters though. Instead, episode one focuses solely on Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) who ended the last season venturing outside of the silo for the very first time. While those who had gone before her all mysteriously collapsed and died, we see Nichols surviving. The shocks don’t stop there though, as she quickly discovers dozens of other silos littering the ruined landscape.
It opens up huge potential for the show but Yost takes his sweet time in getting there, with a first episode that sees Nichols carefully explore her immediate environment and descend into another abandoned wreck. Ferguson, who is no stranger to physical stunts following her work alongside Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible franchise, is hugely impressive during a segment that sees her inch her way across dangerous chasms and build her own makeshift bridges. There’s barely any dialogue either, stoking up the tension.
What she finds is just the start of an engaging season that happily continues the good work of its predecessor. As the 10 episodes unfurl, the writers ping us back to the silo where Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins), the former head of IT turned mayor, is forced to handle the consternation among the populace over Nichols’ departure. Joining him again is Common’s head of Judicial, who isn’t above hiring convicts to do his bidding and keep order.
Fleshing out the backstory, there are flashbacks to Nichols’ younger days where she was mentored by kindly electrical engineer Martha Walker (Harriet Walter). This season also introduces Sex Education star George Robinson who pops up in the bowels of the silo while venerable actor Steve Zahn plays a crucial new character – the less said about him the better. They both slip effortlessly into the mix though.
Best of all, Silo season two doesn’t attempt anything too outlandish, fully aware that its enigma is what keeps us coming back. The mix of paranoia and politics makes for intriguing seasoning over a sci-fi show that plays into our fears of the post-apocalyptic wilderness. And with Ferguson again in resolute form, building on her stellar work in the first season, Silo is a tantalising prospect, simply begging you to wrestle with its mysteries. It’s more than worth it.
‘Silo’ is available to watch from November 15 via Apple TV+