From working at Mechanical to becoming a fugitive on the run from the Judicial, Juliette Nichols has come a long way. And all of this because her lover left her a hard drive. If you take a moment to think about it, all of this is happening inside a metal structure that is now storing the only humans alive on Earth. It’s surreal. Only one episode remains after this, and we have no idea what secret lies outside the silence that the judiciary is so desperately trying to keep. But Episode 9 shows Juliette finally being able to see what’s on the hard drive. It’s not much, yet it’s a lot.
Spoilers Ahead
Defects
Juliette has escaped, and this is very bad news for Bernard. While Sims is losing his mind over where to look for Juliette because he is answerable to Bernard, Paul is filled with regrets. It is one thing to search for the truth and find what the judiciary is hiding, and it is a whole different thing to not perform his duties, duties that he knows he is more than capable of performing. And even though he earned the job, he only got the chance to prove himself after lying to his seniors about his syndrome. His conversation with his wife, Kathleen, almost turns into an argument. She wants him to return to the judicial system and maybe work as office staff. This will keep him from the danger that comes with being a sheriff, i.e., being sent out. It may not be fair, but it is the truth. However, Paul is full of pride and just doesn’t want to accept the truth. He doesn’t even consider what Kathleen is saying and lectures her on how, as a kid, he beat up another kid for talking about his condition. If this is his way of warning Kathleen, he should be ashamed of himself. Otherwise, his words only prove how he has been in a constant state of comparison with others because of the condition he has. Or maybe he is using the excuse of being allowed to make mistakes and not being affected by what other people, including his wife, think of him to avoid admitting that he is scared to lose the job he has got by lying. Be that as it may, he has to find Juliette Nichols. Kathleen’s words may matter to him, but his job matters more. He cares so much about himself and his job that he disregards his wife and child and the possibility that they will be left alone if something were to happen to him. It’s just the fragile male ego taking effect—one of the few things that will surely make it to the end of the world.
Clues
Judicial authorities are searching the whole Silo for Juliette. Neither Martha nor Pete know about her whereabouts. What Sims doesn’t know is that Juliette has found her way inside his home, where his wife Camille and son Anthony are. Juliette must have realized that Sims’ computer has the authorization that’s needed to run the hard drive. She knows that she has to pull a gun on Camille, but what she doesn’t know is that Camille has served as a raider. So while Juliette is busy trying to access the hard drive, she has no idea that Camille is picking her cuffs. Camille has no idea what Juliette wants, and yet she seems to understand that Juliette doesn’t mean them harm. Back at Bernard’s office, Sims tells Bernard about Lukas Kyle, whom Juliette had met. What raises suspicion is the fact that Lukas is from IT, and since Bernard knows that Juliette showed him the hard drive (thanks to the hidden cameras), it is possible that he knows more. We also see Bernard carrying a small object like a key ring that has the number 18 written on it. It glows and buzzes as well. It seems to be somehow connected to the hard drive in question since it also has the number 18 written on it. Does it buzz every time the drive is accessed? Or did it buzz the only time we saw it buzzing because the drive had been accessed (in which case, the object served as an alarm for Bernard)? We’ll have to wait to find out more.
A Colorful Tear
The Judicial has cordoned off the Sheriff’s room, but Paul manages to sneak in. What he comes across there is what started it all for Juliette. The magazine. It is not possible for us to comprehend what is going on in Paul’s mind while he goes through the colorful pages of the Georgia magazine. The sunset, the beaches, the skies, the buildings, and all the colors they carry are unknown to him. Tears roll down his eyes as he tries to make sense of what he has seen—a world so beautiful and colorful but unknown. Just to imagine living in such a world is overwhelming, especially when you have never stepped outside your home your entire life. As scary as it is, we might just be heading toward a time when Paul’s feelings will become ours. He rips off one of the pages and burns the rest in the oven. This act of his is just an expression of the pain that comes with the struggle of denying the truth.
18
Lukas is threatened with “consequences” by Bernard for not alerting the Judicial about the relic that Juliette showed him. The expression of shock on Bernard’s face when Lukas mentions the number “18” on the hard drive proves that all this time, he was unsure whether it was the same drive he had in mind, but Lukas’s words confirm it. It seems that Bernard knows what’s on the drive. By the time the location of the drive is found after a system-wide scan on Bernard’s order, and Sims arrives at his very home with a group of raiders, Juliette has already escaped. She has already seen the video that George left for her, but there’s a lot more that she couldn’t see. She needs to find someone who can help her access the drive again without the court being notified about it. Camille was the one to tell her that every time she accessed the drive, the judge [Bernard] received a signal. So that’s how it is. Even amid all this chaos, Bernard doesn’t forget to remind Sims of the potential crime he has committed by sending raiders to secure his family when all of Silo faces extinction. This isn’t what’s expected of Bernard’s shadow. His shadow needs to be completely dedicated to the service of the Silo and its survival. The irony is that by sending raiders for his family; he has only compromised their future. Or so it seems, as per Bernard. We have no idea why Bernard believes the contents of the hard drive to be dangerous for Silo. Even if the drive reveals that the Silo is lying to its residents about the world outside, the air is still poisonous. All those who were sent outside or went outside died. So all that he has to do to ensure that no one raises their voices against the judiciary is to tell them that they will die the moment they step outside. But no, Bernard is scared of something else. There are lots of secrets on the hard drive that should never come to light.
How Does Juliette Access The Hard Drive?
Juliette needs someone who is well-versed in computers. For this, she reaches out to none other than Patrick Kennedy, who calls upon his tech guy, Danny. Danny manages to access the hard drive on Patrick’s computer while throwing different locations at the Judicial’s tech guys so that they are unable to trace his location. In the video, George mentions the name, Jane Carmody. The drive also shows a video of what lies outside the Silo, green earth. This is what the judiciary wanted to hide, i.e., the display in the cafeteria is a lie. Silo Episode 9 ends with a visual of a tree and birds flying in the sky.
Who is Jane Carmody? Where does the door, that George mentions in the video, lead to? Does it lead outside or somewhere else? What lies beyond the Silo? Silo Episode 10, the Season Finale, will reveal more of what’s on the drive as well as the truth that lies beyond the Silo. The secrets of the judiciary will finally be revealed. Or will the judiciary capture Juliette and send her out?
