Notice! This article contains spoilers for Silo season 2.
“Cleaning” is a key motivator for many stories on Apple TV+ Silobut the show only subtly hinted at his true purpose and origins. Silo The first season defied all expectations in its opening episodes, when it introduced Holston and Allison as main characters, but killed them off before the audience could learn more about them. After finding a video where the outside world appears habitable, Allison believes they were lied to, prompting her to leave Silo 18 willingly. Unfortunately, moments after Allison left Silo in season 1, she fell to the ground and died.
Holston met a similar fate when he followed his wife, Allison, outside, hoping she was right about the outside world. In the direction Silo At the end of the first season, Juliette was also kicked out of Silo 18 after Bernard set her up to die. However, Juliette’s departure changed the way the people of Silo 18 viewed the outside world, when she not only refused to follow the cleanliness rule, but also walked past the hill surrounding the Silo. Juliette’s defiance played a crucial role in portraying why the cleaning rule was implemented and how breaking it could lead to dire consequences.
Cleaning is punishment in the silo
People are sent out to clean for two main reasons
As SiloAs seasons 1 and 2 established, people are sent to clean up for two main reasons. Silo citizens who end up breaking important laws are exiled to the outside world and must clean up the external sensor that transmits the reality of the outside world onto a screen inside the Silo. Likewise, even people who voluntarily say they want to leave the Silo are given a suit and told to leave the underground bunker. Holston and Allison fell into the latter category, as they both decided to leave the Silo voluntarily.
…if a Silo’s sensor has not been cleaned for a long time, it can also be considered a good sign by the Silo authorities, because it only suggests that citizens comply and loyally comply with the rules imposed on them.
In addition to serving as punishment, consistently cleaning the sensor also ensures that the citizens inside clearly see how dangerous the outside world is. The projection on the screen reminds them that the outside world is a toxic wasteland, where the survival of humanity is almost impossible. On the other hand, if a Silo’s sensor has not been cleaned for a long time, this can also be considered a good sign by the Silo authorities, because it only suggests that citizens comply and loyally comply with the rules imposed on them.
How cleaning became a ritual at Silo
Helmet VR projection convinces people to clean
Many Silo residents, like Allison, are determined to break the clean-up rule before they leave. As the rule cannot be applied when the resident leaves the Silo, whoever leaves is free to break it. However, despite being determined to defy the rule, Silo Season 1 characters, like Allison, end up following the rule. Silo The season 1 finale shows the reason behind this, revealing that although the outside world is indeed uninhabitable, those exiting the Silo see a fake projection of it through the VR arrays on their helmets.
The VR projection shows them a lush green world that is safe for humans to inhabit. Because the citizens of Silo know little about advancing technology, they are convinced that what they are seeing is real. Therefore, they clean the sensor lenses, hoping to show the citizens inside the Silo that they have been lied to about the outside world. The ritual continues as each person leaving the Silo wipes their lenses because of the VR helmet’s false projection.
Juliette is also initially fooled by the projection of her VR helmet and is almost convinced that the outside world is safe. However, she gradually notices similarities between the projection and the video she found on Wilkins’ relic hard drive. She notices that a bird in the sky appears to fly in exactly the same pattern as the one in the hard drive video. This convinces her that the projection from her helmet cannot be real. As a result, she refuses to clean up to show that she sees through the lies and is willing to take a stand against them.
Is Juliette the only person who survives after being sent to the cleanup?
Only one other character from a different silo survived
From Bernard’s manual, The Orderdoes not mention anything about what should be done if a citizen survives outside the Silo, Juliette appears to be the only person who defied the scavenging rule and survived after leaving Silo 18.. However, in Silo Season 2, Solo by Steven Zahn tells Juliette that a man named Ron Tucker from his Silo also defied the scavenging rule before surviving long enough to walk beyond the camera’s field of view. As Ron Tucker’s whereabouts remain unknown, only time will tell if he made it safely to another Silo like Juliette or if he died after running out of air in his suit.