Silo Season 3 Episode 8 Review: Morals Over Money

Silo Season 3 Episode 8, “Gray Goo,” answers longtime questions and sets up a confrontational run for the season’s final outings.

With just two episodes in the season left to go, Silo is barreling through to provide explanations and build anticipation for a worthwhile season finale, and it’s doing so successfully.

Compared to previous episodes, “Gray Goo” is a highly informative outing, delicately breaking down the actions that Stenson and Sen. Thurman are taking to protect the human species in the Before Times timeline.

In turn, Daniel and Helen’s morals are put to the test, as they’re presented with a once-in-a-lifetime offer.

Elsewhere, Billings and Hank uncover the truth about Orla Kent’s death, and Juliette and Co’s plan to cap the pipe in the judicial sector takes an unnerving turn when she turns herself over to Camille.

All of this unfolds while Lukas and Patrick navigate silo 17, realizing the lengths that Jimmy’s (aka Solo) parents went to save not only him, but his entire silo.

A Noble Sacrifice

The reappearance of Jimmy is single-handedly one of the biggest moments of the entire season. Fans have been impatiently waiting for Steve Zahn to grace their televisions since the end of season 2.

And while it’s not a reunion between him and Juliette, it’s one of the most informative and emotional sequences the audience has experienced, exploring the tragic fate of his parents.

As we already knew, Jimmy’s father died protecting him by throwing him into the server room. However, we now know his mother was a hero as well, sacrificing her life so her son could still enjoy his.

Realizing that the chance of the poison escaping the room was still possible, his mother sealed herself inside the room with the pipe, willingly sacrificing her own life so those in the entire silo might continue to prosper.

Through their investigation, Lukas and Patrick now have a better idea of how to save silo 18. But it could mean that one of the core group members will end up saying their final goodbyes if they follow in the footsteps of Jimmy’s mother.

Finding A Murderer

The investigation into Orla Kent’s death has been one that we’ve followed all season long. Despite that, though, the revelation behind her death only poses more questions than answers.

Through exhaustive searching and questioning, Hank, Paul, and Knox find Hardwood’s secret room within the mines. Hardwood, though, disguises his actions as an effort to help save the silo from total darkness, rather than working to see its downfall.

One secret he was forced to keep, though, because of the hidden room, was the truth behind Orla’s death.

Learning the identity of the scumbag who killed her is a positive development, but where do things go now?

It’s hard to take Hardwood’s word at face value. Not only that, but believing he never had any ill intentions and was only storing light bulbs for emergencies is quite a stretch.

Will Paul and Hank keep his secret? Or will they work to move the supplies back to where they belong? If so, how will they explain the sudden reappearance of the once-lost items?

Nonetheless, now that Paul has achieved his season-long mission, it’ll be interesting to see how his storyline evolves in the last two outings.

Maintaining A Sense of Morality

In the scenario Helen and Daniel find themselves in, sticking to what you believe in and not compromising your morals is hard. But it’s an even harder feat when you’re being asked to help save the human race.

Stenson and Sen. Thurman finally stop holding back and put all the cards on the table, revealing why they’re pursuing Daniel and Helen. Rather than the country being hit by nuclear warfare, we now know that the “dirty bomb” that began the war between Iran and the U.S. was actually a nanoweapon attack.

Through this, we also learn that Charlotte’s secret mission was to take out the nanotech facility in Iran, but they never reached their target. The cloud they flew through was disguised nanotech, taking over all of their planes in seconds upon impact.

And as it turns out, their mission was all a ploy, meant to distract Iran while the U.S. secretly set off a nanoweapon, destroying the enemy facility. That means Charlotte and her squad were used as a distraction, with their lives meaning little to those in charge.

That’s what makes her decision to stick around to help Stenson and Sen. Thurman that much more shocking. Hopefully, her sticking around means that she’ll be playing double duty, also reporting what she learns to Daniel.

On a positive note, though, monetary value, flashy promotions, and knowing the world’s largest secret aren’t enough to make Helen and Daniel sacrifice what they believe in.

In addition, Helen turns down the chance to break the story about the creation of the silos in a few years. It’s a tempting offer, but sticking true to her principles is just another reason why she’s one of my favorite new additions to the series.

Her scolding Stenson for his cocky attitude is one of the highlights throughout the entire episode, hands down. In part because she is the epitome of every single person who thinks rationally.

Rather than spending a trillion dollars on something like building the silos, why wouldn’t you use that to help end worldwide poverty? homelessness? Cure cancer?

There are so many different avenues to help better the world for everyone, but just as we don’t see billionaires working to better the earth in the real world, the same applies to the world within Silo.

Aside from the most pressing matters, another big moment is Daniel and Helen finally embracing their feelings for one another!

The passionate kiss they share in the helicopter as they fly away from one of the biggest paydays of their life is such a memorable moment, and one that I’ve been waiting for for weeks now.

Stray Thoughts:

• The direct correlation between what’s happening in the real world and what’s happening in the Before Times is uncanny, especially during a time when war between the United States and Iran has been at its peak in years.
• We needed so much more time spent on Shirley and Juliette discussing her pregnancy!

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Silo is available to stream at midnight on Fridays on Apple TV.

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