‘Silo’ Season 3 review: Memories and murder collide as Rebecca Ferguson races to uncover the truth

The penultimate season of Graham Yost’s adaptation of Hugh Howey’s sci-fi trilogy builds on the strengths of the previous seasons to present a chilling, thrilling tale of control and the unstoppable force of curiosity

Published - September 07, 2026 07:29 pm IST

A still from ‘Silo’ Season 3 | Photo Credit: Apple TV

Memory is weaponised in Season 3 of Silo. As a character says, “Loss of memory means loss of self consciousness, loss of identity, the end of personal existence.” Memory is used as a way to control the narrative as well as to reset and start over.

Adapted from Hugh Howey’s trilogy of novels (Wool, Shift, and Dust) Silo tells the story of a group of people surviving in an underground silo after a nuclear blast decimates the world. The silo extends down 140 levels with people living on levels depending on the jobs they do. The government and IT are nearer the top while the mechanics and miners are in the Down Deep.

At the end of Season 1, we learnt with Juliet (Rebecca Ferguson), that there were 50 more silos. Season 2 ended with a flashback to the before times where Congressman Daniel Keene (Ashley Zukerman) meets Helen Drew (Jessica Henwick), a journalist. The fact that the duck pez dispenser, which is a relic in the silo, makes an appearance ties Daniel and Helen to the present.

While Season 2 is told from two spaces, Silo 18 and Silo 17, Season 3 tells the story from two timelines — the “before times” and the present. The more we learn about the trillionaire Per Stensen’s (Colin Hanks) grandiose plans, the increasing fear around nanotech, and Daniel’s sister, Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay), a military pilot and her assignment that went horribly wrong, the more sense we can make of the present.

Rosalind Thurman (Laura Innes) might seem warm and fuzzy, but the United States senator is neck deep in the conspiracy as Daniel learns to his increasing dismay. Victor (Matt Craven), a doctor who lost his family to a terrible accident, is working on the cutting-edge of memory-altering drugs. So is he truly helping Charlotte process the events that led to the crash or are sinister elements at play?

In the silo, Juliet’s memory loss in the first three episodes is frustrating. We, as the viewers are uncovering earth-shattering details while Juliet, who is being fed memory suppressants, goes around telling everyone she does not know them.

As Per’s black heart is being revealed (he even attempted to create a unicorn by splicing together DNA from a narwhal, a rhino and a horse, and only abandoned the idea when a billionaire wanted to hunt and kill it), the antagonists in the silo are having changes of heart. Bernard (Tim Robbins) the head of IT, Sims (Common), the head of security, and Sims’ wife Camille (Alexandria Riley), who becomes head of IT after Bernard meets a fiery fate, all change their minds as they question the diktats handed down by the anonymous voice from Silo 1.

A still from ‘Silo’ Season 3 | Photo Credit: Apple TV

The world-building is as stunning as ever especially since we now have the chance to contrast the beige of the silo with its windows overlooking a ruined landscape, against the green and pleasant land before the apocalypse.

Ferguson’s Juliet continues to be the force behind the show. It is good that she has not been converted into a silently suffering saviour. She is a strong woman with an enquiring mind that just cannot stop asking questions, a trait that proved invaluable when she was in engineering trying to get the generator going and may now be what ultimately tears away the veil behind which the founders are hiding.

Zukerman gives his all to the transformation from the nice, idealistic Daniel to the cold-hearted numbers man Troy, while Robbins is riveting as always. And there is even a cameo by musician Peter Gabriel for the inauguration of the silo.

There are images that foreshadow events, such as Victor reading Moby Dick and the mention of the silo being “Per’s white whale”. The ride in the driverless car is truly terrifying. The author of the Pact that people in the silo live and die by, is one of those throwaway details guaranteed to shock.

The post credit trailer of the fourth and final season appears to hint at a connection between Jules and Daniel. Hopefully it will also answer all the other questions including how the tree that presumably was near the nuclear blast somehow survived for 350 years.

Silo is currently streaming on Apple TV

Published - September 07, 2026 07:29 pm IST

cinema / English cinema / reviews / The Hindu Weekend / television / fantasy and science fiction