We already know Bernard (Tim Robbins) has information nobody else in Silo does, but Season 2, episode 2 shows us he even has his own private manual.
After we followed Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) into that semi-abandoned silo in episode 1 we cut back to the original silo in the next episode, watching as Bernard runs into his private server room and sees — through a camera in Juliette’s visor — her pushing long-dead bodies out of the way to get to possible safety, just before the signal cuts out.
Panicking, Bernard grabs a large black book titled “The Order”. After flipping through it he stops on a page with instructions on what to do if someone sent out to clean doesn’t actually clean.
The page only flashes up for a second, but with a bit of pausing and zooming we’ve managed to transcribe it:
IN THE EVENT OF A FAILED CLEANING, PREPARE FOR WAR
This failed cleaning action plan is provided only as a guide to help Mayoral and Judicial and employees/Raiders comply with the requirements of the Occupational Health Administration’s Silo Emergency Action Plan Standard, 34 Code of Silo Regulations (CSR). It is not intended to supersede the requirements of the standard. This plan contains the basic elements of an emergency action plan. However, you should review the…
After that the text gets too blurry to make out. We can’t see much of the text on the right-hand page, either, but the words “Begin with a list…” can be deciphered.
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Credit: Apple TV+
In the next shot, you can make out a subheading further down the same page that reads “SILO WAR PLAN” followed by some more text that’s impossible to make out.
What does the text in The Order tell us?
Presumably The Order, like The Pact, is a text provided by the silo’s mysterious Founders. Unlike The Pact, though, which is taught to all citizens, it seems as though The Order is a book only someone in Bernard’s position is privy to. The text itself is fairly jargon-filled, but the line near the bottom — “This plan contains the basic elements of an emergency action plan” — stands out.
In short, the Founders (and therefore Bernard) view a “failed cleaning” as something that’s a high level emergency — something that is likely to lead to “war” in the silo. Clearly, the Founders set out instructions in case of such an event, which we can presume Bernard will start to follow as Season 2 progresses.
We don’t know what these instructions are — although the “Begin with a list…” line on the second page sounds a bit ominous — but judging by everything else we know about the silo’s strict regime, it probably won’t be good news for the citizens.
How to watch: Silo is streaming now on Apple TV+ with new episodes releasing weekly.
