Apple TV+ is home to some of the most ambitious sci-fi TV shows, and Silo holds a special place among them. Based on Graham Yost’s fantastic trilogy, it’s set in a dystopian future where the last remnants of humanity live inside underground silos, carefully controlled by a sophisticated AI called the Algorithm. Starring Rebecca Ferguson and featuring an all-star cast, the series sits at a staggering 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, which just goes to show the kind of quality level it’s operating on.
Despite that, Silo Season 3 has proven pretty controversial. Previous seasons have been a slam dunk with audiences as well as critics, but Silo Season 3 is an exception. The core problem is that this season deviates from the books, and has introduced an amnesia plot from Ferguson’s Juliette that’s completely original. This serves as the driving force for pretty much the entire arc, so it’s a major change. However, it’s already becoming clear this is justified.
Like the books themselves, Silo Season 3 is a turning point for the show. Until now, it’s only given us the dystopian future timeline in all its devastating detail; Season 3, however, takes a step back. It introduces new characters who live in the Before Times, using them to reveal what caused nuclear war in the first place; the main characters are Daniel and Helen, a senator and a journalist who have just uncovered a dark conspiracy. We already know where the story is heading, and Helen’s possessions number among the relics that survive in Juliette’s time so we even know she’ll be in this particular silo.
It would be easy for this story to feel a little disjointed in Season 3, given we’re hopping between two different time periods. But Silo unifies itself on a thematic level instead, carefully integrating themes and concepts across the centuries. Daniel and Helen begin by investigating the memory wipe of Daniel’s sister, Charlotte, whose fate parallels Juliette’s own experiences. Episode 3 just continued the arc, moving from amnesia to conspiracy and covert surveillance, both in the Silo and in the Before Times. It’s incredibly smart writing.
What’s more, it also means Silo feels fantastically cohesive. Because the stories parallel so much, you can make deductions about one time period from what’s happening in the other. As an example, I’m personally convinced the Algorithm will ultimately be revealed to have orchestrated the nuclear war, simply because it plays such a prominent role in the Juliette plot; the symmetry is working as setup, which is the smartest possble storytelling decision.
I do understand who some fans of the books are unhappy with Silo Season 3. At the same time, though, we have to accept one simple truth; what works well in one medium, wouldn’t necessarily do so in another. Silo Season 3 didn’t make changes just for the sake of it, but rather has done so to drastically improve the narrative flow, making the story more effective as a TV series. That’s undoubtedly the right call.
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