• Silo is the adaptation of an eponymous trilogy by American novelist Hugh Howey.
  • In a future where the Earth is devastated and the air becomes toxic, this SF series follows the survivors who live in a giant 144-story underground silo.
  • Why does this dystopia deserve to be explored?

A story of isolation. Adaptation of an eponymous trilogy by American novelist Hugh Howey, Silo, whose first two episodes, are available since May 5 on Apple TV+, takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where some 10,000 survivors of humanity have found refuge in a huge bunker with a cylindrical and helical structure. Why does this dystopia in 10 episodes, created by Graham Yost (writer of Speed and creator of Justified) and carried in particular by Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible Snape Nation) and Tim Robbins (Mystic River), deserves to be explored?


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A meticulously constructed universe, layer by layer

In the silo, history is taboo. But no one knows when and why Earthlings were confined to this gigantic, 144-tier, autonomous underground silo while waiting for the planet to recover from the event that made Earth's surface toxic and uninhabitable.

For one hundred and forty years and a rebellion with forgotten reasons, any relic or souvenir of the surface is also prohibited. A surveillance camera constantly films the landscape of a ravaged planet. His images are broadcast on the refectory screen of each of the 144 floors of the silo. "It's like when I watch the news from home through the TV screen or a computer, you always see only the worst. This world gives the impression of being dangerous. Why would someone want to leave their sweet home? " explained Hugh Howey to 20 Minutes at the release of his trilogy. Some inhabitants of the silo decide to go to the surface, but do not come back.

This historical amnesia serves the interests of a governing elite that has established an authoritarian judiciary and a highly stratified society. This elite also exercises strict control over the population, essential for the survival of a sealed world. You need permission to try to have a baby.

An investigation around a rather complex mystery

Discovering this dystopian world is complemented by an intriguing police investigation that follows some of the inhabitants of the silo in search of truth. The first episode follows Sheriff Becker (David Oyelowo), the man tasked with - along with Mayor Ruth (Geraldine James) - with ensuring the peace and stability of the silo, as he announces his desire to get out, three years after his wife (Rashida Jones). In a flashback, the viewer discovers the latter who discovers, just to get permission to try to have a baby, a relic - a technology dating back to the time when humans lived on the surface - which suggests that the inhabitants of the silo are being lied to...

After this introductory episode, the rest of the series centers on Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson), a mechanic in charge of the generator that provides electricity to the bunker, looking for answers, after the murder of a loved one. And, by domino effect, the great mystery of the place. "His comfort zone is repairing machines, holding his tools.... We discover her at a time when she goes out of her comfort zone and has to get closer to people, and everything breaks down, "says Rebecca Ferguson, whom 20 Minutes met by video.

A multitude of metaphysical and political readings

Silo can be read like many things. "The series covers so many different topics! Geopolitics, the environment, control of the Big Brother system. I don't think the show can have an impact on the political landscape of today's society. But it's definitely about how we see it and how we feel about it," says Ferguson. The series criticizes the class system, questions the role of history and its rewriting, and asks the existential question: is it better to die knowing the truth or to live in ignorance? In short, a series that fully embraces the themes of the SF genre.

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