Silo season 2 finale ending explained: Did Juliette Nichols make it back to Silo 18?
The Silo season 2 finale culminates Juliette Nichols' desperate attempt to return to her home, Silo 18, from the abandoned Silo 17 to stop the rebellion. Throughout the second season of Apple TV+'s dystopian sci-fi drama, Juliette has gone through several near-death situations in her quest to retrieve a fully-working suit to make it back safe to Silo 18 and warn its citizens not to open the vault and go outside.
Despite initial setbacks, including her suit getting torn up, Juliette Nichols made it back to Silo 18 in the Silo season 2 finale, and her return ultimately stopped the rebellion. Her message that it's not safe outside also stopped the people from opening the vault. However, Juliette's return to Silo 18 ended with another risk to her life and Bernard—being engulfed in flames and burnt alive.
Moreover, the season finale confirmed questions about the Silo, like the Safeguard Procedure and what it could do, but also teased new intriguing facts, like the purpose why the Silos were built.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for the Silo season 2 finale. Reader's discretion is advised.
Juliette returns to Silo 18 in the Silo season 2 finale
The highly anticipated Silo season 2 finale saw Juliette Nichols make a run towards Silo 18 to stop the rebellion and prevent the Safeguard Procedure from killing the 10,000 people inside the Silo. However, her quest didn't end without any setbacks.
As Juliette prepared to go outside, she discovered that her protective suit had been torn to pieces. There were holes in it from when she fought against Solo's attackers and the other survivors of Silo 17 back in Silo season 2 episode 8. Juliette was understandably frustrated, but Solo had an idea. There was another orange suit he tested underwater to ensure that it was airtight and safe to use outside.
With the new suit and her helmet, Juliette was able to return to Silo 18. She was also armed with the message that Hope, formerly called Eater, painted on a piece of white cloth. It reads:
"Not safe. Do not come out."
The citizens at the cafeteria saw Juliette approaching from up the hill, and everybody was ecstatic to learn that she was alive. As they chanted, "Juliette lives," her message also stopped Kennedy and some Down Deepers from opening the vault and going outside.
However, there was another problem. Juliette couldn't open the blast door with a crowbar from outside. And when it looked like she was giving up, Bernard, who stationed himself just outside the airlock, opened the blast door so Juliette could go inside. Like her, Bernard was suited up and was planning to go outside to experience "freedom" for just a little while, he said.
Also read: What does the number 18 mean in Silo?
Does Juliette die in Silo? Her new suit might prove to be a groundbreaking development
The Silo season 2 finale is titled Into the Fire, which was literally what Juliette and Bernard Holland got into after she tried to enter the airlock to return to Silo 18.
In Silo season 2 finale, after Bernard went out of the airlock, the door closed automatically. When Juliette saw the door closing, she quickly entered, triggering a fire purge in the airlock meant to prevent contamination.
The episode ended with both Juliette and Bernard engulfed in flames. Whether they survived or Does Juliette die in Silo? is unclear, but Juliette was wearing an orange firefighter's suit, which may offer more protection than Bernard’s regular white suit.
Also read: What happened to Mary Meadows in Silo?
Silo season 2 finale confirms what the "safeguard procedure" is
Back in Silo season 2 episode 9, fans have been left with a cliffhanger and the question about what the safeguard procedure is all about. As seen in season 2's penultimate episode, the Algorithm that Lukas Kyle talked to at the tunnel underneath Silo 18 told him about triggering the Safeguard Protocol if he revealed about the tunnel or what he knew about it.
When the Algorithm asked him if he knew what the safeguard procedure meant, he said that he did.
The series never confirmed what it meant, but the Silo season 2 finale answered most of the questions about the threat. In Silo 17, Solo remembered the safeguard protocol that his parents talked about during the rebellion years ago. He saw a piece of paper where the words "Safeguard Procedure" were written, which triggered his memory, and he told Juliette all about it.
He said that his mother stopped the procedure from happening years ago, and Juliette could do the same to save Silo 18.
It turned out that the safeguard procedure is a protocol that the founders can trigger for whatever cause they deem necessary, like a successful rebellion. Solo said that the safeguard is a pipe in Level 14, which, when triggered, releases enough poisonous in the air that can kill 10,000 people. But he said that his parents found a way to stop it by putting a cap on it.
Who died in the Silo season 2 finale?
Juliette's father, Pete Nichols sacrificed himself to get Mechanical's plan in motion in the Silo season 2 finale. As Juliette prepared to leave Silo 17 to return to her home in the Silo season 2 finale, the rebellion had already started happening in Silo 18. However, Bernard captured most of the Down Deepers after he found out about their plan via the camera in Walker's home.
However, as Walker revealed to Bernard, those in Mechanical use hand signals to communicate, so unknown to him, everyone knew that he was monitoring them via the camera. Unknown to Bernard, Mechanical had a contingency plan in place. They weren't planning to blow up the generator after all, but instead, they planned to bomb the stairs between levels 90 and 92.
Unfortunately, Pete and Hank lost the timer for the bombs they had to set up, which meant it had to be triggered by hand. Pete decided that he would be the one to do it.
Also read: What is Silo series based on?
Silo season 2 finale sets up season 3; a flashback teases the purpose of the Silos
The Silo season 2 finale hinted at a change in Silo 18's leadership. With Bernard keen on going outside and probably burnt to death, Silo 18 would need a new head of IT.
Robert Sims, Camille, and their son already went to the vault, where Sims told the Algorithm that he wanted to save Silo 18. However, the Algorithm said that he and his son could go out of the vault, but Camille could stay, teasing that she could be the new IT head.
Also read: Why is Solo hidden in the vault in Silo season 2?
The Silo season 2 finale ended with a cliffhanger about Juliette and Bernard’s fate. It also included a flashback to Washington, DC, where a freshman congressman met a journalist, believing it was a date. Their cryptic conversation hinted at an event that may have led the founders to build the Silos.
Per their conversation, there was an alleged radioactive dirty bomb detonated in the US, and Iran was allegedly the culprit. The Silos could have been created as a containment facility to keep people safe from the nuclear blasts or the effects of the radiation from the dirty bomb. While the congressman didn't spill the tea about the radioactive bomb, he left her with a PEZ dispenser, the same one treated as a relic in Silo season 1.
Catch the Silo season 2 finale episode and the full installments of both season 1 and 2 only on Apple TV+.
Also read: Will there be a Silo season 3?
