Season 1 'Silo' Finale: Fans of Apple TV's 'Silo' Share In-Depth Theories and Eye-Opening Questions

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Jul 18, 2023 11:30 AM EDT

If you are a fan of Science Fiction and dystopias, then Apple TV's Silo is for you! The series is based of of a book series of the same named by Hugh Howey. It follows a society built underground in a silo due to the decline of Earth's environment. However, after many many years living in the silo, many citizen start to distrust their leaders and think that outside world is actually livable. Lots of drama happens throughout the series and the ending to season one of the show has left viewers with jaws open. 


Many people who are fans of the show, but have not read the books, have come up with many theories and thoughts after watching the season 1 finale. If you are a fan and have already watched the entire season, scroll on to get your 'Silo' thought wheel turning. We must warn you again, if you haven't watched it yet, beware that below is BURSTING with spoilers. But if you have watched it all, can we please talk about Sim? And the suits? And wtf was up with that random glitch of a lush green outside world?? And wait, how many silos are there outside?? What in tarnation city is that in the distance?? Why is the tape such a thing??? All this and more is discussed below. 

Advertisement
  • 01

    Season 1 Review

    via u/booth_ism
  • 02
    Font - zedarecaida 18 days ago Holy shot. This finale proved all my theories wrong. Apparently the world outside really is fed. All this time I thought the people who went to clean before her really died because of the suit, and not the air itself. She was saved because of the duct tape?! Other thing really curious is that there's a city in the distance. Probably all devastated though. Have no idea what to expect for S2. I feel like watching the S1 season finale of Lost. There were so many possi
    via u/zedarecaida
  • 03
    Font - drdr3ad 17 days ago All this time I thought the people who went to clean before her really died because of the suit, and not the air itself. She was saved because of the duct tape?! What happened to all the other bodies of people that have been out clean from their and the other silos? We don't see them in any of the wide shots Reply Share 26
    via u/drdr3ad
  • 04
    Font - mbrady 17 days ago Who knows what's going on in the other silos. Maybe most of them are empty or everyone is dead. 6 Reply Share Bobzyouruncle 17 days ago Probably the reason they are mostly cut-off from each other. If the goal was humanity's survival in a world-ending catastrophe, then it would be prudent to ensure that some sort of contagion (be it disease or socially engineered) doesn't spread throughout the whole system and end humanity. 8 Reply Share
    via u/mbrady
  • 05
    Font - tobiascuypers 17 days ago · edited 17 days ago At the end we see there are many Silos. We can assume that this Silo is cut off from the other Silos. (Probably what the big steel door is for, connecting them) The default state would be the with "green filter" up. Probably as a display for the original occupants of all the Silos. They wouldn't want to constantly see the devastated outside world. So when it "glitched" it reverted to default, but this silo has an override to show the outside,
    via u/tobiascuypers
  • 06

    Significance of "9-11-21"

    via u/urquwill
  • 07
    Font - The tape was given by walker to that lady in supply. The lady in supply would have used the good tape. That was shown in a brief scene of them getting the suit ready. Thats what Juliette and walker spoke about. Hence the note indicating she'll be safe. 22 Reply Share vDucatti 17 days ago yes, and after the rebellion they probably removed the "green filter" so it no longer could play any part in making people beleive that it was safe outside. ↑ 7 Reply Share
    via u/vDucatti
  • 08
    Font - heraclitus_ephesian 16 days ago Another reasonably plausible answer I heard: if a silo powers down, that means it's over for the residents. The creators of the silo wanted a nice version of the world to be the last thing the people see, either to provide consolation, or to get them to go outside instead of perishing in the darkness. For that reason the screen flashes green when the power goes down, and then reverts to its default state when the power comes back online. 3 Reply Share
    via u/heraclitus_ephesian
  • 09
    Font - Bobzyouruncle 17 days ago They definitely short-changed this part of the story. I know they brought up the tape being stolen a bizarre number of times, but the characters and logic involved in the realization at the end did not feel like a satisfying "ah hah." It also seems like, for all the supposed planning, that they would simply rely on 'bad tape' to allow the cleaner to perish, rather than simply allowing them to survive outside for as long as possible is odd. I suppose he wants to k
    via u/Bobyouruncle
  • 10
    Font - Also, if the outside world is really as dangerous as they claim, why not let anyone who wishes to 'see for themselves' go see and come back? With good tape. It just seems like these people aren't as evil as they are made out to be if the world outside truly is un-survivable. I also was under the impression that the old woman was partly blind or something.
    via u/Bobyouruncle
  • 11

    Sim's Theory

    via u/reactinwithmikeandbri
  • 12
    Font - mbrady 17 days ago I think they are so shocked and giddy at what they're seeing that they're not really thinking things through that much. And they just assume that the lens is sort dirty that the view looks terrible so they think they need to clean it. Plus they're slowly dying and may not be thinking too straight by then too. Reply Share... 8 Bobzyouruncle 17 days ago True, we have to remember that these people don't even really understand what "cameras" are. They get rudimentary pictur
    via u/Mbrady
  • 13
    Font - newaccount1000000 13 days ago these people don't even really understand what "cameras" are. They get rudimentary pictures for their IDs, I think, but they all didn't recognize a camcorder whatsoever. That's another inconsistency too. They know the people that go out to clean goes out to clean the lens. They absolutely know what a cameras is by funtion. To them it is a lens made of glass, obviously since they can see it being cleaned and get an image of a view of the outside world. Literal
    via u/newaccount1000000
  • 14
    Font - Certainly no one in the silo thinks they are simply looking out of a giant window! Unless you want to make the argument that it's completely normal and believable to people that somehow their fellow silo citizen sent out to clean suddenly grows to 10x size as they approach the "window"? These people know how windows or openings in walls works, and that is not how windows/openings in walls works. They know they are looking at a screen with a projection of an image of the outside.
    via u/newaccount1000000
  • 15
    Font - ParanoidNinja88 17 days ago Also I believe they kill them off also so they don't walk to the other silos and reveal that truth. Reply Share 5 eggmanjr 17 days ago I agree. Also I think when she doesn't die and goes to walk over the hill, the mayor grabs his key 18 and goes to a room. I think the 18 is for the silo number, its silo 18 and the key allows the mayor to communicate with other silos and hes going to warn them that she might be showing up, maybe appearing in front of their silos
    via u/eggmanjr
  • 16
    Font - Webbie-Vanderquack 17 days ago edited 17 days ago Sorry for my ignorance (I only just finished the ep and I'm still processing it) but (a) why can't they just reveal the truth and (b) if it's possible to go out there and clean in a suit, why don't they just do that? Why the complex system of sending people out only when they request to be sent and tricking them into thinking it's pretty? It's no different to sending people into outer space, in the sense that outer space would kill you wit
    via u/Webbie-Vanderquack
  • 17

    Connected Silos?

    via u/bridgetenielle
  • 18
    Font - thrilled_to_be_there 17 days ago . edited 17 days ago I think the issue is population control. Imagine trying to control a million people linked between hundreds of silos where there is no slack for sabotage. You will never be able to count on common sense to keep everyone alive, too many can be swayed into being in conspiracy. In the current system the loss of one silo would not mean the end of humanity if one were to politically fail.
    via u/thrilled_to_be_there
  • 19
    Font - I think each silo is independent because it is easier to control a small group. The display in the cafeteria is real but the display in the helmet is fake to intice people to clean. Why clean if it is hell outside? This would also make it harder to convince people in the silo that there really is a problem outside. The suit is designed to fail to prevent people from sharing the truth beyond the little bowl of earth in view. The fact that all silos are designed that way tells you all of th
    via u/thrilled_to_be_there
  • 20
    Font - Webbie-Vanderquack 12 days ago Maybe each silo is indeed an experiment?...Or perhaps it is simply their type of police state control. Both of those would make sense. It was interesting that Bernard didn't seem to know about the "massive door made of steel, at the bottom of the Silo, that George found." So maybe there's a Bernard in every silo, and they actually don't have as much knowledge or power as they think they do, which suggests there may be a Kim Jong Un in charge somewhere.
    via u/Webbie-Vanderquack

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

dystopia silo-questions silo-apple-tv silo-show hugh-howey sci fi silo science fiction silo-theory apple tv fan theories
Scroll Down For The Next Article