With a solid95% Rotten Tomatoes critics scorefor its second season so far, Apple TV+ seriesSilois off to a strong start. The story continues to center around Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson), a talented engineer residing in an underground silo in a post-apocalyptic world. After being forced to “go outside,” Juliette discovers that they aren’t alone: other silos exist. In an abandoned one she gains entry to, Juliette meets an interesting man named Solo who becomes crucial to her story of survival.
Who Is Solo, and Why Is He in the Vault?
Solo, played by Steve Zahn, first shows his face (or rather eyes) when Juliette comes across a vault in the new silo. She hears music coming from there and follows the sound. She pulls on the handle of the password protected vault door, but it’s locked. As she walks away, however, a man pulls back the cover on a rectangular eyehole.He seems harmless, but his words are anything but. He tells her he knows she pulled on the door and if she does it again, he will kill her.
Juliette tries to show Solo that she means no harm, but he won’t budge. He refuses to let her in the vault, nor come out himself. He does, however, leave her bowls of food, showing that he does have some compassion.He comes across as naïve and innocent, almost child-like in the way he speaks.
In Episode 3 of Season 2, aptly called “Solo,” viewers learn more about the character. He explains what happened to everyone in his silo and why he is in the vault. After the rebellion began,Russell, the head of IT, put Solo, who was his IT shadow, in the vault and told him to, no matter what, never let anyone in…ever. Solo has been following that rule ever since.
A Tale of Two Rebellions
Solo tells Juliette the story behind why the rebellion began: a man went outside and refused to clean.Instead, he wrote “lies” in the dust on the camera lens. This caused everyone to believe that it might be safe to go outside since they never actually saw him die. It sounds eerily similar to Juliette’s own story, which makes her question the potential aftermath of what she did. In refusing to clean and walking out of view, she might have given everyone false hope that the outside is indeed a lush, green landscape. A rebellion might be brewing in her silo that could put all her friends and family at risk.
Now Juliette is more desperate than ever to get home.She realizes if she doesn’t get back to warn them, everyone could be trying to go outside, believing the land is habitable. She needsa containment suit, however, since she ripped hers to shreds to get out of it. And Solo is seemingly the only person who can help her.
Solo gives Juliette the idea of using a firefighter suit, but her initial excitement quickly dissipates when she realizes the floor where the firefighter suit is located is under water. Sensing Juliette’s increasing frustration,Solo finally comes out of the vault at the end of the episode. But the meeting is far from what Juliette might have expected and hoped for.
It’s evident that Solo hasn’t been out for some time. Juliette helps him through his awkwardness and reluctance to even take a few steps across a bridge. But she realizes how deeply damaged he is whenhe reveals that he was unsure if she was real this whole time or just a figment of his imagination.
How Does Juliette Survive Leaving the Silo?
Fans know that Juliette left the silo in Season 1 of ‘Silo’ and that she survived and was shocked by what she saw. What happens next?
What Steve Zahn Has to Say About Solo
Without revealing too much detail about where Solo goes from here onSilo, one ofApple TV+’s best shows,Steve Zahn toldRadio Timesthat the name is a good one for him because “he’s been through a lot, and his world stopped at a certain point.” He adds that the things society often takes for granted, like “how we communicate, how we express ourselves, how we show emotion, how we function in society, those things were gone for him. They don’t exist.”
He teases the development of a “really interesting relationship” between Solo and Juliette, since they both want and need something from one another. It’s likely that Solo will provide Juliette with help in retrieving and building a new suit she can use to safely go back outside. She believes disaster is imminent, and she’s on a clock to head back to her silo and save everyone there from an unnecessary rebellion.
But it won’t be easy. Solo has a mistrust of others. He has lived for an unknown number of years in the vault by himself. He has managed to educate himself with books and pictures, nourish himself with food, and entertain himself with music. But he has presumably had no human contact.
If Solo’s claims to have been the IT shadow prove true, however, that means he knows a lot about the silo. If anyone can help Juliette, it’s him. But will he want to? And will he be able to get over his own fears and paranoia or will it all be too much? All these questions will be answered in the subsequent episodes of the season.
What to Know About Solo From the Book
For those who don’t want spoilers, it’s best to stop reading at this point. For those who don’t mind, or who have already read the Hugh Howey novel trilogy on which the series is based, they already know some of the secrets that Solo holds.In the books, it’s revealed that Solo has been alone in the vault not just for years but decades. This meanshe was just a child when the rebellion occurred and has been on his own much longer than Juliette realized. It also explains his child-like innocence and behavior. He never really had the opportunity to grow and mature with the help of adults for virtually his entire life.
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Solo eventually teaches Juliette how to communicate with other silos, if the storyline is followed from the books.This leads to her communicating with Lukas (Avi Nash), the man in her silo with whom she struck up a casual friendship.Fans of the series know that at the end of Season 1, Lukas was sent to the mines as punishment for his involvement in the hard drive saga that led to Juliette being sent out to clean. How he manages to get access to a device to communicate remains to be seen.
In the book,Solo’s real name is Jimmy Parker, and he was the sole survivor of his silo’s rebellion. However, it’s unclear if the series will follow this same trajectory, so fans will have to wait and see. It’s entirely possible that Solo’s role could be much different inSilothe series than it is in theWool, Shift, andDustnovels.
Where Else You Have Seen Steve Zahn?
Steve Zahn has had a long and successful career in Hollywood that has spanned decades. He started out in movies in the ‘90s likeThat Thing You Do!, National Security, and theStuart Littlefilms, and continued on through the 21st century with roles in films likeRiding in Cars with Boys,Dallas Buyers Club, andWar for the Planet of the Apes.
On the small screen, he’s best known for his role as a main cast member on the HBO seriesTreme. He also starred in the highly rated Prime Video seriesMad Dogs, which many believed was canceled too soon. Most notably and recently,fans will recognize Zahn from his lead role in the first season of HBO anthology seriesThe White Lotus, which isprepping for its third season. He also has a recurring role in the seriesThe Righteous Gemstones.
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With experience in theater as well, it’s no surprise that Zahn captures the essence of this character so beautifully. His diverse resume has proven that he can tackle everything from comedy to intense drama. Zahn has earned several award nominations, including a 2022 Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his role inThe White Lotusand two Screen Actors Guild Awards forDallas Buyers Club(2014) andCaptain Fantastic(2017). But he hasn’t won one of the more high-profile awards yet. Based on Zahn’s performance inSilo, this might soon change.
