Silo: What happened in season one, episode one - 'Freedom Day'
Read a full recap of what happened in Silo season one, episode one
Last updated 13 hours ago
Silo, the popular Apple TV series, has now started to air its third season, which sees Rebecca Ferguson reprise her role as Juliette Nichols, the former engineer, and now mayor of the Silo.
As the series continues to grip fans, we thought we would give you a full recap of season one, which was released back in May 2023, one episode at a time. Make sure you're right up-to-date with what's happened before watching season three.
READ MORE: Find out more about Silo season three
Episode 1 – ‘Freedom Day’
The series starts with the sheriff – Holston Becker (played by David Oyelowo) – tightening the screws on an air vent and placing a vase of large flowers in front of a mirror, something that will become significant in later episodes.
In the Silo all women have birth control implanted in them and are only allowed to try and have children if they are given permission. Sheriff Holston and his wife Allison are given permission for the third time – having been unsuccessful both previous times. Sadly, it seems that the pair are going to be unsuccessful again, but Allison becomes convinced there’s a reason why.
Alison, who works in IT, posts a document online about to recover deleted files, which quickly gets removed by the Head of IT, Bernard Holland. However, it caught the attention of George in The Mids (the middle section of the Silo), who asks for Allison to help him with something on Freedom Day.
Freedom Day is public holiday in the Silo, and celebrates the founders' victory over the Rebellion. Allison goes to George, who has an electronics shop in The Mids. When she meets him, he shows her a relic, a hard drive with the number 18 on it. The pair manage to find files on the hard drive, including blueprints of the Silo and videos of past cleanings. They then watch one file called ‘Jane Carmody Cleaning’, where the video footage from her helmet appears to show a beautiful blue sky, green grass and birds flying in the sky, in contrast to the grey post-apocalyptic landscape residents of the Silo can see on screen in the cafeterias.
Allison returns to the Up Top (top levels of the Silo), where she is due to meet with the doctor to have her birth control re-implanted. However, she doesn’t turn up for her appointment, and Holston is shocked to find her at their apartment. He finds Allison after she has removed the implant, which the doctor never removed in the first place! She tells Holston that she believes they were never going to be allowed to have children.
READ MORE: Silo phrases explained - All the key terms you need to know
Allison then goes to the cafeteria, dripping in blood, telling everyone: “I want to go out!” Holston is then left sitting next to his wife’s cell where she tells him what she has seen on the hard drive. She explains that if “it’s green and lush and beautiful” she will clean, and if it isn’t she won’t.
After reading his wife her rights, Allison leaves the Silo. She cleans the camera, before turning around to walk towards the hill. As she’s walking up the hill she falls over, but manages to get up, before collapsing again.
The episode then jumps two years later. Holston is still working as the Sheriff, when George is found dead in Mechanical, where he had transferred to. While some think George killed himself, others think it was murder, so the Sheriff, with his Deputy Marnes, visits Mechanical to find out more, where he meets Juliette Nicholes (Rebecca Ferguson) for the first time.
How to watch Silo
Silo seasons one and two are now available to watch in full on Apple TV. Season three episodes are being released weekly.
What happened in Silo season one?
For a full recap of Silo make sure you check out our episode by episode guide.
What do these Silo terms mean?
Going out to clean
Going out to clean in Silo its basically a death penalty. Residents of the Silo who go out to clean don't come back alive. They are sent out for two reasons, either because they break the law or they ask to go out voluntarily.
When they are outside, they clean the lens on a camera that displays on the screens in the cafeterias. Over time the lens gets covered in dust and debris from the toxic wasteland the residents of the Silo can see.
SPOILER! (Juliette is the only person so far to come back alive)
Up Top
The Silo consists of 144 levels, and they are connected by a single spiral staircase, there are no lifts. It is split into three main sections. Up Top is where the primary government offices, the Sheriff's station, and the surface airlock are situated.
The Mids
Below Up Top is The Mids, where many of the residents live along with the schools, and The Farm that grows food for the population. It also houses the Mids Medical, where Juliette's dad, a doctor, oversaw the nursery.
Down Deep
At the bottom of the Silo is the Down Deep. The people who live down there and keep the generator going rarely go up to The Mids or Up Top. There are many Deputy stations throughout the Silo, but the Down Deep Deputy Station is where Deputy Hank Murphy is charge. He is good friends with Juliette and Knox who work on the generator.
The Mines
Being sent to the mines is seen as a punishment for those who break the law. Iron ore was mined from The Mines, which are dirty and full of rats. Lukas Kyle is banished to The Mines for not reporting Juliette's relic.
The Digger Void
The area around the digger that was used to build the Silo is called The Digger Void. In the Digger Void is a camp made by George, where he hides a few relics, later Bernard is found hiding there, after many believed he had died.
Shadow
Someone's shadow is like their deputy, they are expected to learn from their mentor. In one of the early episodes Juliette gets a shadow called Terry Cooper. Juliette was previously Knox's Shadow, when she first transferred from The Mids.
The Algorithm
A select few from the Silo ever encounter The Algorithm, a voice that speaks to certain people about the Silo in a bright room with stepped walls. Although the subtitles call this voice The Algorithm it isn't referred to by the characters as such, and many don't know of its existence.
The Farm and 'going to the farm'
The Farm refers to the many farms in the Silo, where they grow crops and have animals such as pigs and chickens for the 10,000-strong population.
However, there's a slightly grim feature of The Farm, when members of the population die they can be buried in The Farm, so that their body's nutrients helps to feed the crops.
Before Times
Before the Silo was built was the Before Times - set in the near future (2040s). Not much is known about the Before Times in the first two seasons, with the third season beginning to explore why the Silo was created.
Judicial
Similar to the Sheriff, Judicial help to keep law and order in the Silo, they are responsible for enforcing The Pact and confiscating any relics.
Relic
Something from before the Rebellion. It's illegal to be in possession of a relic and knowing that someone has one and not reporting them can also be a punishable offence.
The Pact
The Pact is a book that the rules of the Silo are set out in. Several characters refer to The Pact throughout the series and how they must follow the rules.
The Rebellion
140 years before Silo is set there was a Rebellion when the residents of the Silo stormed the upper levels wanting to open the door to the surface and poison the entire Silo with air from outside. The Rebels burnt all the books, computer drives and anything from the Before Times.
Safeguard
A hidden pipe system which can flood the Silo with toxic gas. Use of it is designed to end the entire Silo's existence, but it isn't controlled by Silo 18, instead it is controlled by the overseers of Silo 1.