Silo Season 3 Episode 9 Gives Bernard a Moment of Worth

Critic’s Rating: 4.3 / 5.0

4.3

At long last, the past storyline has reached the questions that needed answering in Silo Season 3.

Yet the present-day arc remains the most compelling, as we see a character make a sacrifice to ensure the people’s safety.

Is it enough for a penultimate episode? I’m still debating that in my head, but it certainly sets up for a thrilling final episode of the season.

We Could Have Got to the Answer Sooner

I’ve made it clear for the longest time that I’m not a fan of the past storyline on Silo Season 3.

With the conversation in the car and the clear proof that one or both of them had to end up in Silo 18 at some point, it just seemed a little pointless to have the entire buildup to this moment.

Silo Season 3 Episode 9 finally gets to the point of people going into the silos.

Part of me thinks that we could have just jumped time like this episode did, rather than wasting time on seeing this romance blossoming between Daniel and Helen — a romance I’m still not convinced by — but alas, here we are.

Considering how much Helen should be able to read between the lines as a journalist and how smart Daniel is, there’s no way the senator, her daughter, and others in charge of the silo project should have been able to trick them.

It was clear from the way Anna shifty-eyed Daniel and Charlotte away from meeting for breakfast the next day that something nefarious was planned.

Per’s comments that he needed Daniel on other parts of the engineering project, Henry ushering Daniel to Silo 1 so quickly, and Anna being non-committal about where Charlotte was continued to give it away.

Why did Daniel only figure it out when he got the wrong response to his text to Charlotte?

Why didn’t Helen and Daniel wonder what was going on? Why were the two separated on this tour?

None of it made sense, and it infuriates me that they were played so much.

Yes, I have ended up with questions about where Charlotte is right now and what the big plan is, but they’re all overshadowed by the characters’ idiocy.

At least now we know who ends up in Silo 18 and how. Helen is the one who has to go in there.

As that bomb dropped, she was nearest to Silo 18. Daniel, meanwhile, was closest to Silo 1, so he’ll end up there.

I said recently that Silo Season 3 had proven the poison isn’t in the air, so it’s not the reason nothing grew back.

Now we learn how the land was destroyed in the first place and why people were forced into the silos.

We also learn the origin of The Pact, which was written by Victor, and it’s designed to help people survive underground for 500 years.

That now gives us an idea as to how long Per and others thought this would last.

And while the ending finally answered a couple of questions — such as where the Pez was in Silo 18 — I still don’t feel like any of this was necessary to push Silo Season 3 forward.

Bernard Makes Sure Juliette and Her Friends Can Thrive

What pushed the season’s story forward was Bernard’s actions.

At the end of Silo Season 3 Episode 8, Juliette turned herself in to protect Shirley and allow the work to block the safeguard so it could continue.

Well, Bernard had to do his own work to ensure that as well.

He turns himself in, and it reveals something far more than he — or we — probably thought.

As he talks to the Algorithm once more, he realizes something. It’s not a computer. There’s a human behind that screen, sitting somewhere in Silo 1.

This changes everything that he once believed about The Pact and the silo system. 

I think this is exactly what he needed to know: that he was doing the right thing, knowing that turning himself in would lead to his death.

Yet, by dying, he knows that he is saving the people of the silo. 

All those terrible things he did because the Algorithm told him to can’t be wiped away with this sacrifice, but he can die knowing that he is doing the right thing now.

At first, I questioned why Camille would send Bernard out without a suit. It comes up in the viewing gallery, and it seems almost monstrous to do that.

But I think there’s a deeper meaning to this: to ensure he doesn’t survive.

The last person seen on the cameras was Juliette. Most of them don’t know Kennedy and Lucas went out.

So, people know that it is possible to survive out there. If Bernard was wearing a suit, they’d think that maybe he could get to the same place Juliette did.

This also makes it clear to Kennedy’s followers that it’s still not safe outside, so they will stop asking.

Now, again, we know that the poison isn’t in the air. It can’t be, because Lucas survived.

Someone told me that Silo made it clear the poison was in the suit, but that doesn’t track either. Bernard wasn’t wearing one.

Where is the poison? All I can think is that it’s something in the “decontamination” spray before people walk out.

Bernard doesn’t care that he’s going out without a suit, though, and that’s probably because he knows it doesn’t matter. He knows the tape doesn’t work anyway.

All that matters to him is that his sacrifice offers time.

There’s been a bigger conversation with those in Mechanical to ensure the safeguard is sealed.

Everything going on while all the focus is on Bernard is what keeps me interested in this storyline.

As Juliette asks “why” and the bombs go off, it’s clear that the Algorithm got it wrong, and Silo 1 is about to lose complete control.

What does that mean for Silo 18? What does it mean for the system as a whole? 

Can it be next Friday already?

We want to hear what you think.
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