Some science fiction books/films hinge upon their world-building and many fall short. Silo was the brainchild of indie author Hugh Howey and his book trilogy launched with 2012’s Wool and later became known as Silo. The screen treatment of Silo is a lush multi-part TV series that is utterly unafraid of unwinding Howey’s fascinating plot slowly and atmospherically, like a pocket watch. The first season (see my review) crowned my 2023 viewing and was a blinder, at once capturing (somehow, how is it possible?) the claustrophobic dystopian world of ten thousand folks living in a multi-level underground bunker and commencing the heroic tale of Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson has carved out an unforgettable performance here) digging at the truth of the silo and then being sent out to die in a radiation-blighted world as punishment. In Season 2 (ten episodes), Juliette (spoiler alert) stumbles into another, very different silo and tries to make progress amidst chaos, while back in her silo a rebellion slowly brews. A large tapestry of memorable characters incubates with every carefully choreographed episode, the gloomily tinged cinematography is sublime, and the plot mysteries seem to expand with every revelation. Season 1 of Silo was exemplary, Season 2 is just as thrilling.
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