Season 3 opens the doors of the Silo wide and takes the series to the heights (review)

Apple’s fascinating post-apocalyptic sci-fi saga finds its new lease of life. More ambitious, more nervous and above all much more generous in revelations, this season 3 finally brings us closer to the truth. We are jubilant!

Finally. Here we are. The Silo is deconstructed before our amazed eyes…

After a second season which pulled dangerously on the rope by thickening the mystery without really nourishing it, Silo finally finds its reason for being: to make us completely addicted to its secrets. Knowing that season 4 will be the last, showrunner Graham Yost does not make the mistake of keeping everything under lock and key until the final chapter. His adaptation of Hugh Howey’s novels, as faithful as ever despite some welcome liberties, is finally beginning to half-open the doors of this gigantic concrete bunker. Of course, behind every answer lies a new question…and that’s precisely what makes the series so irresistible!

But before reaching the outcome – or at least the first clarifications – we must agree to descend once again into the depths. Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) returned from her journey to silo 17 with one certainty: a protocol allows the mysterious “Founders” to wipe out, in a few minutes, the entire population of a silo. Except that back in issue no. 18, everything is reset to zero: victim of an amnesia as practical as it is frustrating, she leaves the field open to the formidable Sims spouses – brilliantly played by Common and Alexandria Riley – who take back the controls while the underground power games start again with a vengeance. We feel like we’re standing still. That the series is back for a spin…

The first three episodes thus constitute the big flaw of this season. After a season 2 finale which promised a spectacular acceleration, Silo suddenly slows down. This story of amnesia breaks the rhythm especially since on the surface, the series struggles to keep its promises: as seen in the last minutes of season 2, we go back in time to our era, in parallel, to tell the story of the birth of the silos. Here again, patience is required. This prequel part takes very well-marked paths from the pre-apocalyptic story (Fallout does it much better). Fortunately, Ashley Zukerman (Succession) and Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist) form an irresistible duo of whistleblowers, and little by little give emotional strength to this origin story.

And then everything speeds up.

The pace picks up from episode 4. The revelations come slowly but surely. Our certainties are wavering. Silo once again becomes this incredible suspense-making machine that forces you to start the next episode without even thinking (we were lucky enough to be able to binge-watch the whole thing in two days thanks to all the episodes distributed to the press). Each answer opens a new mystery and guides us a little closer to the truth. Like Russian dolls, the enigmas fit together to form a gigantic conspiracy of which silo 1 seems to hold the ultimate key. Few series have mastered the art of frustrating their audience so well… to better reward them afterwards. This heady, haunting little music accompanies each discovery and transforms the slightest shock into a rush of pure adrenaline. We savor every clue, every detail.

Of course, by piling up the plots and counter-attack plans, it all ends up lacking a little coherence. Moreover, the chain of command of the silo seems more and more nebulous: mayor, judge, IT manager… We no longer really know who is really in charge and who holds the power. But we don’t really care, as long as the revelations keep coming. And the least we can say is that it rains in the last part of this season 3: episodes 8, 9 and 10 completely change things. They shatter beliefs and other theories, and reconfigure everything we thought we knew about silos. As is often the case with these great television mysteries, certain enigmas are more exhilarating than their answers, it is inevitable. But when Silo finally decides to reveal his game, we don’t bat an eyelash, absolutely fascinated. The last two episodes, in particular, are among the most intoxicating moments of television we have seen in a long time. The doors of the silo finally open and you will want to rush in, deeper than ever…

Silo, season 3 in 10 episodes, to watch from July 3, followed by a new episode every Friday until September 4, 2026.