‘Silo’s Noir Storytelling Makes It Stand Out From Other Dystopian Shows

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Silo, Episodes 1-3.

There are a number of high-concept, cross-genre books that have made the translation from the printed page to film or television over the last few years. While some hybrid-genre shows have been critically-lauded like The Shining Girls. It didn’t become a ratings hit like other adaptations Bridgerton or Sweet Tooth and might be axed after only one season. Another Apple TV adaptation having more success is the dystopian sci-fi Silo, only a few episodes into its first season and it has received rave reviews. Silo stands out from other post-apocalyptic shows with its noir storytelling and intriguing main character, Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson). Apple TV’s latest literary adaptation Silo has paired our fear of an invisible threat with the post-apocalyptic go-for-broke nihilism that permeated HBO’s The Last of Us. Both shows renewed interest in the post-apocalyptic subgenre by doing things a bit differently. Silo is deeply relevant to current events, and our susceptibility to misinformation and spin. Injecting noir storytelling techniques into the classic post-apocalyptic template echoes Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.

What Is ‘Silo’ About?

Silo unfolds initially in two timeframes and begins with a voiceover from Sheriff Holston (David Oyelowo) informing the audience what the Silo is, encapsulating the rules in a few sentences. He calmly tells his deputy Marnes (Will Patton) that he wants to go outside, which is a deserted, and allegedly toxic, wasteland. The show jumps back two years into the past and Holston is happily married to Allison (Rashida Jones), an IT worker, and they’ve been granted reproductive clearance. Law and governance are determined by a single government entity and they are sticklers for rules, rule breakers are sent out to clean aboveground — a death sentence.

How the events in the first episode play out is positively Hitchcockian. Allison’s fate in the silo is tested after a conversation with self-proclaimed fertility expert Gloria (Sophie Thompson) and George Wilkins (Ferdinand Kingsley), a man with access to technology that hints strongly that residents of the silo have been lied to and misled. She violently removes her birth control device (which she was assured had already been removed) and attempts to convince Holston and the rest of the silo of her discoveries. When they still refuse to believe what she is saying, she elects to go outside. Two years later, Sheriff Holston will follow in his wife’s footsteps. In a whiplash-inducing shift of perspective, enter Juliette Nichols, an inhabitant of the stupendously bleak lower-levels and the most important person in the silo.

RELATED:’Silo’ Review: Rebecca Ferguson Skillfully Leads a Dystopian Series Defined by Deception

How Does Rebecca Ferguson’s Juliette Nichols Fit in to ‘Silo’?

Silo’s central heroine breaks the mold in the near-futuristic setting of Silo. Rebecca Ferguson brings real humanity and vulnerability to Juliette. It makes for compulsive viewing following her character; her story keeps us guessing and involved. We are introduced to Juliette at the end of the premiere episode, “Freedom Day,” following the apparent suicide of George, her lover. She is adamant that George did not take his own life and was almost certainly the victim of foul play. Sheriff Holston hovers somewhere between believing her and remaining skeptical.

Juliette is an enigmatic woman, prone to violence; she’s tense, emotionally shut-off. These characteristics are tempered by a truth-seeking nature, moral compass and integrity. Rebecca Ferguson takes on a role here traditionally seen in hard-boiled pulp or noir classics. In her interactions with Holston in the “Holston’s Pick” episode, we discover more about the machinations of Judicial, George and Juliette’s secret lair beneath the silo, and a blueprint with details of a tunnel far below ground. These will serve as breadcrumbs for Juliette to follow in future episodes. After Holston’s demise, Mayor Jahns (Geraldine James) refuses to allow Judicial to appoint a new sheriff. Marnes explains to the mayor that Holston had picked his successor: Juliette. In Episode 3, “Machines,” in an attempt to get a measure of Juliette and her world, Jahns and Marnes make the descent through the Escher-like structure of the silo. Inscrutable bureaucrat Bernard (Tim Robbins) labels Juliette a thief, her father Pete Nichols (Iain Glen) raises more questions regarding Juliette than answers and Judicial thug Sims (Common) tries to bribe the mayor with cake. When the mayor finally reaches Juliette and pitches the idea of sheriff to the engineer, she refuses, pointing out she is the most important person in the silo. She is charge of the generator — without it, there’d be no lights, no life support. Until, she is given Holston’s badge and reads ‘Truth’ inscribed on the back.

Juliette Will Make a New Kind of Sheriff in ‘Silo’

Now that Juliette has been appointed sheriff, after mending the generator and saving everyone from extinction, viewers will gradually gain access to the world of the silo through her. “Machines” ended on a cliffhanger with Marnes finding Mayor Jahns near death and bleeding from the mouth. Is she dead? Had she been bribed with another sweet dessert off-screen that was laced with arsenic? Going forward Juliette’s investigation will overlap with George’s death and the information retrieved by Allison in the premiere.

Graham Yost’s adaptation seems to be focusing on the procedural elements from Hugh Howey’s successful book series and audiences are fine with that. The character-driven focus and Rebecca Ferguson’s layered performance coupled with the noir storytelling and grim setting make it a standout show. Unlike other procedural shows, Juliette is a compelling character very much operating in her own lane. She demonstrated in the latest episode she is prepared to do anything for the continued survival of the silo, and she’ll keep the plot moving forward without been reduced to a plot device. It helps that the audience haven’t been subjected to large info dumps about Juliette or the silo. Juliette is as much a mystery as what is happening in the Silo. She’s a reflection of the world she moves through, which is a vintage noir staple. We have so many questions after the latest episode: why was Juliette’s father so vague and shifty, why does she fear water so much, and what did the word “Truth” mean on Holston’s badge? All slow-burning mystery elements we can’t wait to find out more about.