Silo Episode 9 The Getaway Explained- If The Display Is A Lie, Why Did Holston And Alison Die?

Fair warning there are major spoilers for the Wool series and how those might affect the Silo series.

Time is running out for Bernard. Juliette is in trouble with everyone looking for her, but she has smart friends in low places. By the time the penultimate episode of Silo Season 1 is concluded, everything Bernard has been fighting to keep hidden is compromised. Silo Episode 9 brings Juliette up to speed. My only concern is she will misinterpret the files just as Alison did. It all leads to an explosive finale.

Juliette is in trouble. She is running for her life. Her gamble to jump over the stairs paid off, and she is in hiding for now. Bernard and Sims are desperate to find her so she may not stay hidden for long. Bernard has a small keychain-like thing marked with 18, which is ominously flashing red. What does it mean, and why is he so concerned? Those who have read the books understand how just one person could be so dangerous to the Silo.

Billings has been ordered to his apartment. He is shaking, though. The tremors aren’t subsiding even with the meds. He has to admit that he has the syndrome, continue hiding it, or go to Judicial, where he will be safe. His wife worries that sheriffs are dropping like flies and he could be next. He knew a kid when he was young that also had the syndrome. The kid asked him about it. Billings struck him so hard that he knocked his teeth out. The kid was trying to connect, but Billings couldn’t risk anyone finding out he had the syndrome. He wants to be productive and earn his position, but if anyone found out, he would be considered damaged goods.

Sims is questioning everyone who might help her. Juliette’s Dad says I don’t know where she is, but I wouldn’t help you anyway. She is the most important person to me. While Sims is questioning everyone he can think of, his wife and kid hurry home. She used to be a Raider and switched to IT after her son was born. Juliette went to their apartment and confronted Sims’ wife. She needs access to his computer to check what is on the hard drive. Juliette asks Sims’ wife why she could be a Raider and yet not trust them enough to let them into her apartment.

Billings is fighting an uphill battle. Judicial has ordered everyone out of the investigation. He is locked out and doesn’t understand why she would ask to go out. Billings is a good person. He wants to do the right thing and make a difference in the Silo. Being a good person hasn’t worked out all that well for sheriffs, though. Doing the right thing all but guarantees you will end up outside sooner rather than later. When he searches the Sheriff’s office, he finds a shard of two-sided mirrored glass, meaning a camera can see right through, but those on the inside can’t see the camera. He hasn’t put all the pieces together, and he and Juliette never shared theories, so he is in the dark, but he isn’t stopping, regardless of the risk.

His determination and cleverness pay off, and he finds the Georgia travel guide behind the bathroom cabinet. Truth is like wildfire. It spreads and is hard to contain. The more information that gets out, the harder it is to control. Bernard is fighting a losing battle. Billings burned the book in the oven but kept one page. That’s one more person who has pieces of the puzzle. Bernard’s reign is crumbling, and he knows it.

Bernard questions Lukas after learning that Juliette sent him a note shortly before she was taken into custody. He also knows Lukas immediately went to her apartment after receiving the message. Bernard saw and heard everything that was said and done. He knows about the hard drive. Bernard asks him why he didn’t tell anyone. Before the conversation gets very far, Bernard threatens Lukas with cleaning. He has two choices. Help Bernard find Juliette, tell him everything he knows, or go outside and die. Lukas told him the hard drive had the number 18 on it, and Bernard looked panicked. He asked his techs to find it, and now they know Juliette is in Sims’ apartment.

Juliette went to Patrick Kennedy for help. Kennedy, in turn, called for the leader of a hacker group to open the drive without IT knowing where she is. The hacker opens the drive and can see George’s entire video message. George tells her he loves her even though he initially was using her and tells her to look for the door under the water. He also tells her to start looking at the other files.

By the end of Silo Episode 9, even more, people have seen the Jane Carmody cleaning file and know there is something wrong with the display. They don’t fully understand what that means or why, but it is becoming impossible to cover up. People don’t like being lied to; eventually, even the best coverups break down. The more people involved, the harder it is to keep a lie going. When thousands of people are involved, the probability of keeping something major a secret is slim to none. Those numbers dwindle even more when fear is employed as a controlling device. Fear only works some of the time and creates an environment of distrust and aggression.

What does the Jane Carmody video show in Silo Episode 9?

This is the same file Alison saw that made her think outside was safe. The file seems to show a woman. Presumably, Jane walking outside for a cleaning and seeing a beautiful, healthy environment instead of the ruinous landscape that the display shows inside the Silo. It is the reason every person who goes outside to clean actually cleans the screens. They think they are being shown the real world, and they clean the displays so the people inside can see that the world isn’t toxic. Everyone who cleans thinks they are helping people learn the truth. It’s a diabolical plan that uses paranoia and deception against us.

Just as Alison and later Sheriff Holston went outside, saw the sunny green world, cleaned the screen, and died, everyone who cleans experiences the same thing. There is a lie on the displays. It just isn’t the one in the Silo that is lying. The display that is a lie is the one in the helmets. It is designed to calm those cleaning and make them clean the screens. Whether Juliette will present herself for cleaning after seeing the video, we don’t know. Hopefully, she will watch more files and figure out the real lie before she ends up like Holston.

Bernard needs to maintain control and thought he had it all figured out, but he is losing his grip on the situation and his people. Sims has been his loyal soldier, but threatening him is a bad idea. Sims is dangerous. He has shown he is more than a henchmen. He cares more for his family than Bernard and the Silo. That makes him a threat to Bernard, and we know what happens to threats. I’ve been fascinated with Common’s Sims, and I would love to see him get a redemptive arc in Silo Season 2. That would be a significant deviation from the books, but Sims also doesn’t have as big of a role in the books as he does in the series, so anything is possible.

Allies are strange things. One man’s friend is another’s foe, and they can change sides at the drop of a hat. Bernard’s biggest allies today could be his biggest enemies tomorrow. Juliette has always seen value in those on the fringe. The free thinkers and those who refuse to fall in line resonate with her. It is why she is so dangerous to Bernard. She is armed with what she thinks is proof of a lie. She believes the wrong lie, though. That same belief killed Alison and Holston. Will she be caught and forced outside, or will she willingly go? If Silo Season 1 follows the books, she will go out but be safe because of the ingenuity of her friends.

Curiosity killed the cat and lots of inquisitive people in the Silo. Intelligence has always been a problem for certain governments. Silo Episode 9 has set the stage for Bernard’s biggest fears to come true. The truth is coming out. Too many people know, and even more, are informed all the time. Respect is earned and can’t be gained through threats. There is a reckoning coming. The Silo Season 1 finale will be a doozy! Find all our Silo coverage here.