Understanding the Silo Timeline: Key Dates for the Apple TV+ Series

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Silo Season 2.

Decoding the Timeline of Silo Season 2

Apple TV+’s Silo has expertly woven a narrative shrouded in mystery, especially concerning its timeline. In its second season, the series offers viewers a wealth of clues to help untangle major events within the story. Anchored primarily in Hugh Howey’s novel, Wool, both seasons intentionally avoid disclosing too much about the external world and the events that led humanity to seek refuge in the vast silos. Season 2 enriches the series’ lore by delving into the history of an adjacent silo while introducing new characters into the mix.

However, this deeper exploration complicates the timeline further. Although Season 2 adeptly engages viewers in its intricate storytelling, it keeps the overarching year of events ambiguous, prompting speculation about the timeline based on subtle hints provided throughout the episodes.

Timeline	Event
352 years after the Silos’ construction	Juliette’s present-day timeline in Silo
140 years before the present timeline	Last rebellion of Silo 18
Over 30 years before the present timeline	Rebellion in Silo 17 and the start of Solo’s journey in the vault
Sometime after 2018	The world ends, forcing humans into the silos
Over 352 years before the present timeline	A Congressman encounters Helen in a flashback at the conclusion of Season 2

Solo’s Backstory and the Timeline of Silo 17’s Rebellion

His Time in the Vault

Rebecca Ferguson as Juliette in Silo — Image credits: Custom Image by Yailin Chacon.

Throughout the narrative of Season 2, the backstory of Solo—played by Steve Zahn—remains elusive. Each time Juliette seeks clarity about his past, he skillfully sidesteps her inquiries. Ultimately, as the season progresses, Juliette pieces together that Solo, then known as Jimmy Conroy, was approximately 11 or 12 years old during the rebellion in Silo 17. She recalls his memories of a classroom context, where his name was inscribed on a desk.

This revelation indicates that over three decades have passed since the events of Silo 17’s rebellion. Notably, Solo appears to be over 40 years old, hinting at his extensive time spent in the vault. Supplementing this, the younger characters in Silo 17—Hope, Rick, and Audrey—were either unborn or children during the rebellion, emphasizing that these events transpired well over 30 years prior to the present timeline.

The Construction Timeline of the Silos

A Mark of Centuries

In a pivotal scene during Season 2, Bernard provides Lukas with access to encrypted information about the silos, divulging that they were constructed 352 years before the current timeline. This revelation underscores how many generations have resided within these structures while the outside world has remained largely uninhabitable for centuries. Given that the series suggests that individuals cannot exit the silos without protective suits, it raises pressing questions about the cataclysm that rendered the surface unlivable.

The Timeline Connection of Silo 18’s Rebellion with Salvador Quinn

Memory Manipulation and Historical Erasure

In Season 2, Salvador Quinn’s role as the mayor during Silo 18’s last rebellion, which occurred 140 years ago, reveals additional timeline details. Quinn’s extreme measures to suppress historical knowledge—including memory erasure and the destruction of artifacts—imply that for nearly 140 years post-rebellion, Silo 18 experienced no significant uprisings. Essentially, Quinn became mayor around 200 years after the initial silo constructions.

The series indicates that every preceding generation attempted to revolt until Quinn’s administration, which dismantled the cycle of rebellion by enforcing forgetfulness among the populace through various means, effectively sterilizing their collective memory of the past.

Unraveling Clue About the Current Timeline in Season 2

A Contrasting Perspective of the Future

Bernard showing Meadows the outside world through a VR set in Silo season 2's episode 4.

In a poignant scene just before Meadows’s demise, she requests to experience the outside world. Though Bernard cannot permit her to go outside, he offers a tantalizing glimpse of the exterior through a VR headset, revealing “Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, 2018″in the subtitles. This detail suggests that in 2018, the world was not yet a barren wasteland, posing compelling questions about the timing and nature of the catastrophic events.

In contrast to the show’s chronology, the original books depict the silos’ completion in 2052 with events advancing into 2345. If the outside world remained habitable in 2018, it raises the possibility that silo construction likely began in the 2020s, suggesting that the current timeline in the series falls well beyond 2370. This starkly deviates from Howey’s portrayal, creating a distinct narrative arc in Apple TV+’s adaptation.

Understanding the Ending Flashback of Silo Season 2

The “Before Times”Snapshot

Season 2 closes with a captivating flashback featuring a Congressman interacting with a journalist named Helen. Although the exact date of this flashback is ambiguous, its depiction strongly suggests a temporal context reminiscent of the 2020s. Considering Bernard’s earlier confirmation regarding the silos’ construction timeline, this flashback evidently transpires well before the present-day events within the series.

Key Facts About Silo
Created By	Graham Yost
Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score	92%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score	64%
Based On	Hugh Howey’s Silo series including the novels Wool, Shift, & Dust

An interesting detail surfaces when the Congressman gifts Helen a duck Pez dispenser, an item Juliette later finds in Season 1. This could suggest that Helen was a pioneer resident of Silo 18, symbolizing hope and rebellion against the oppressive regime. Moreover, this connection leads to speculation about her possible relation to future flamekeepers within Silo 18.

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