Inside Silo Season 3’s Juliette Memory Twist & How The “Before Times” Origin Story Changes Everything | Cover Story

Since its debut in 2023, Silo has stood as one of Apple TV's best shows, and with the streamer's quality in programming, that's saying something. Led by Rebecca Ferguson, the sci-fi series is notably based on the dystopian book trilogy by Hugh Howey. With Silo's highly anticipated return, season 3 is set to usher in a new era, with the show utilizing stories from two distinct timelines: the present story, primarily set within Silo 18, and the "Before Times" story from 300 years in the past.

Silo season 3 will bounce between those two timelines, revealing more details about the state of the world leading up to the apocalyptic event, and how those decisions shaped the society in the world of Silo. Whereas Ferguson's Juliette Nichols spent much of her time at Silo 17 in season 2, she will be back home for the latest season. That said, the character doesn't necessarily recognize Silo 18 as her home, where tensions are still high.

For our exclusive cover story, ScreenRant's Liam Crowley interviewed Silo creator Graham Yost, in addition to cast members Rebecca Ferguson (Juliette Nichols), Common (Robert Sims), Alexandra Riley (Camille Sims), Ashley Zukerman (Daniel Keene), and Jessica Henwick (Helen Drew). Yost and his Silo cast discussed what's to come in season 3, the show's timeliness, and looking ahead to the final season. In addition, the cover story features several exclusive images for Silo season 3.

Ashley Zukerman & Jessica Henwick's Characters Are Key To Silo's Origin Story

Silo season 2's ending featured a massive narrative twist, using the final moments to feature a flashback set hundreds of years before the main story. In it, viewers were introduced to a congressman named Daniel and an investigative journalist, Helen, meeting at a Washington D.C. bar, where they discussed a bombing carried out by Iran and any potential plans to retaliate. Daniel and Helen's initial meeting, alongside talk of global conflicts, set the stage for what's to come in season 3, particularly the split storyline.

Silo season 3 embraces a new timeline format, with the show flipping back and forth from the main story focused on Juliette and Silo 18 to Daniel and Helen's story in the past. The latter, specifically, will provide a look into the Before Times, why the silo system was built, and what necessitated its use. Daniel and Helen have close ties to the global threats, which pull them into a larger (and more dangerous) conspiracy involving the silos.

For the past timeline, Daniel and Helen remain the heart of the pre-apocalyptic story, especially when their partnership in finding the truth turns into a love story. Seeing as their relationship and respective roles in the silo's origins are so important to the larger story, it was critical to get their pairing right for season 3. Ashley Zukerman noted that he "definitely felt the weight of those stakes, knowing how important this relationship would be moving forward." He revealed that the connection with him and Jessica Henwick was there "from take one," with Henwick adding that "it was nice to not have to worry about that aspect at all," regarding the chemistry between the pair.

As for adapting Hugh Howey's Silo books for the Apple TV series, season 3 will tackle some of the events depicted in Shift, the second novel. Zukerman's Daniel is based on a book character named Donald, who was also a congressman and had a major role in creating the silos. The series of events, including Daniel's involvement with the silos' creation and overall political climate, plays out a bit differently compared to Shift, but those changes from Yost were part of a bigger plan for the series, explaining the reasoning behind the name change.

Ashley Zukerman: As I understand it, it's not a conversation I ever had with them, but it was just to give them the freedom to do anything with these characters, to give them some space from the books. I think that was what drove it, because Shift especially can't be put on screen the way it happens in the books, but for obvious reasons. I think they just wanted to get some distance from the books.

The same can be said for Helen, a figure loosely inspired by Donald's wife in the books, who also serves as an emotional anchor for Donald/Daniel. However, Silo season 3 is taking a more original approach to the character, allowing Henwick some more freedom with the character.

Jessica Henwick: I felt it was the perfect balance, where the writing was so good, and there was so much on the page. Graham is also a real believer in the strength of casting and kind of went, "Okay, I chose you because I like you. Now see what you can bring to it." And on my part, I can't really say that there was much sort of creation. I felt very close to her and I felt like I largely pulled from myself for this character.

During the Before Times flashbacks, there's a lot of focus on the growing conflict with Iran, as well as a secret military operation that escalates concerns. The conflict depicted in Silo season 3 results in a real-world parallel with the current war with Iran, something that the cast and crew were "conscious about." Granted, the relevancy didn't stop with the Iran parallels, as there are several emerging threats in the show that are seen as growing dangers in the real-world today.

Ashley Zukerman: I think it makes us a bit conscious about what it is that we're dealing with and making sure that we're sensitive to it and not exploiting it. I would say that Hugh wrote these books in 2014 and 2015, and that was still a conflict that was happening, even though it was sort of semi-dormant at the time.

But I think the show puts us in the real world. Runaway AI, climate change. There are many things that could end our society as we know it, and they're all tragic. I'm very proud that the show seems to exist right now and talk about all the ways in which we're doing our world damage and our society damage.

The significance of relics in Silo will once again be a factor in the new season. Not only do they uncover a few mysteries in Juliette's memory-loss journey, but we will also learn what the Before Times timeline reveals about relics. That includes the duck Pez dispenser that's been prominent in Silo 18, which we now know was something Daniel gifted to Helen during their first encounter. On a lighter note, Henwick revealed the relic of hers that would instantly trigger a memory, saying her collection of glow-in-the-dark smiski figures. Zukerman tried to share what he would pick as his relic before admitting that he "definitely can't beat the smiski."

Graham Yost & Rebecca Ferguson Dive Into The "Before Times" & Its Real-World Parallels

Though Juliette is back home in Silo 18 to start season 3, it's at the sacrifice of her memory. While returning to her silo, Juliette and Bernard got trapped in the incinerator room as it became engulfed in flames. Bernard's fate remains unclear, but we do know that Ferguson's character survives. In fact, Silo season 3's trailer indicates that Juliette becomes the new mayor even though she's dealing with severe memory loss.

Much of season 3's primary storyline will follow Juliette's memory loss, from what caused it and how she attempts to regain those lost memories. When talking about the real-life memories made while working on the show, Rebecca Ferguson fondly looked back at making Silo, saying, "The biggest memory is sort of leading up to the end of it and realizing how much everything is meant and how much fun we've had."

For Ferguson and the rest of the returning cast, season 3 marked a major change for the series with the prominence of the Before Times origin story. When Graham Yost shared how much Ferguson "enjoyed the Before Times story," she instantly confirmed, saying, "so much more." There was also excitement surrounding the past because of how many series-wide questions the origin story will answer.

Graham Yost: And because you're not in it. And it's like you don't have to look at yourself, but we really look for the parallels and look for that sense of, "Oh, what's happened to Juliette started 350 years before or a little bit more than that, that we're going to get answers." And we wanted to let the audience know that they were going to get a degree of answer to the big mystery in this season, as well as keeping stuff for the end of the whole run. It was a fun thing in the writer's room to land on that and pitch it to Rebecca, and she liked it. And I was like, "Okay, let's do this."

In solving those mysteries, Yost weaves the two different timelines together, strategically building a bigger narrative and bridging gaps that thrillingly connect the past and present. At times, the two stories feel like completely different shows, but they eventually blend in surprising ways. Some of those surprises will follow in line with Howey's book trilogy, while others will be complete shocks for those familiar with the source material or not.

Graham Yost: It was using the big tent poles. We knew we were going to get to this point here and that point there, but we changed character names, changed genders, and really looked at Daniel and Helen in a different way than Hugh did with Donald and Helen. We wanted to make it more of a romantic political thriller and have a different tone to that part of the story than we had anywhere in the series and know that everything that they … It's established with the Pez at the end of season 2. We know that Pez is going to end up in Silo 18. How did it get there? And so it's answering that question really. And then that gives a lot of answers going forward.

During discussions with Yost and Ferguson, parallels between the show and what's going on in the real world were also brought up, in addition to Ferguson's role in House of Dynamite. The 2025 political thriller also involved global conflicts and the subsequent and immediate response from high-ranking government officials as well as the military. When talking about Silo's relevancy, despite the story being around for years, she made it a point to touch on House of Dynamite.

Rebecca Ferguson: The parallel between House of Dynamite and things were happening, that was sort of a real factually informative film telling people actually of how things work with representatives of people working within positions. This is very different for me anyway. And as you've said, the books were written 13 years ago. The bit about Iran was written five years ago.

Diving deeper into the parallels, Yost acknowledged that they exist, but at the end of the day, they were "just following Hugh [Howey]." As Ferguson previously noted, many of the story's details that carry relevance now were written many years prior. Yost then reiterated that "the real-life stuff is real-life stuff, and that counts a lot more." Ferguson then pointed out how they worked on Silo season 1, not long after COVID required living in "confined spaces," playfully suggesting "maybe it's Hugh," to which Yost agreed, saying that the author is "ahead of the game" when it comes to knowing what's coming for the real world.

Common & Alexandra Riley Reveal What The Sims Family Will Face In Silo Season 3

Like previous seasons, Silo season 3 features the Sims family, but their significance to Silo 18's fate is bigger than ever before. Shortly before Bernard attempted to exit the silo at the end of season 2, he made Robert the IT shadow. Camille, on the other hand, was seemingly selected by the Algorithm in the vault to be the new Head of IT. But in doing so, Robert and the pair's son, Anthony, were sent out of the vault, implying that Camille will be one to answer to the mysterious Algorithm voice in control of the silo.

As Camille is pulled into the threats Silo 18 is facing as the Head of IT, Robert leans more into fatherhood, since he's the one taking care of Anthony more now that Camille is busier with her new duties. Silo season 3 notably shows a softer side of Robert than the previous seasons. We had glimpses that there was more to Robert behind the tough exterior, seeing how his son steers his motivations in season 3 adds interesting layers to Robert Sims.

Common: Honestly, one of the first scenes in season 1, where we didn't know what was happening, I think the lights went out, and our son was in darkness, and I went into his room and comforted him. I remember that was written in there. I was so happy for that one little moment, and it was part of a montage, but I was like, yes, please show more of who this human being is, because we know that he is an enforcer. We know that he is for the safety of the silo, and it's part of the authority in many ways. But what about this father? What about this husband? What about this person who does care for the people?

So that was the first glimpse. I think you fast-forward to where we are now, you see so many different sides of Sims that I didn't even know that they were going to allow to happen, but I'm so grateful. Even in the moment, sometimes things that were written, if I felt like I needed to go to a more emotional space with it, I would. Or if I felt like, no, just because it says Sims loses it right here, if it doesn't feel truthful at that moment, I don't do it unless me and the director come up with a way that it makes sense and it feels right.

On the other side of the marriage, Camille isn't able to be around her son as much as she would like, but that may be for the best in season 3. Being the newest puppet for the Algorithm is risky enough, but Silo 18 is recovering from a rebellion and the revelation of a Safeguard Procedure that could kill all the silo's inhabitants at any given moment. Because of that, Camille has no choice but to work with Juliette, the new mayor, who's seen as a hero among many Silo 18 residents, even if Juliette herself doesn't remember anything.

Juliette has a challenging time as the new mayor, seeing as she has no recollection of her past or the relationships she previously had with the people of Silo 18. When discussing Camille's relationship with Juliette, Alexandra Riley explained how "manipulation" is being used because of "a lack of trust" and whether some of her character's actions in taking advantage of Juliette's memory loss are actually for the greater good.

Alexandria Riley: I think there's a bit of both in there. There's a lot of manipulation happening, put it that way. I think we need to remember that Juliette has always been a problem in some sense, in some way, to both of them. There's definitely a lack of trust there, but I think it's more intense this season now with Camille, where Juliette represents a threat. There's gameplaying, there's manipulation, there's playing with trust, and then there's also the fact that she is a common denominator between the issues of Sims and Camille.

It was so exciting playing with these dynamics with Rebecca because, one, she's incredible, but two, we were finding new things and new ways to communicate the power dynamic between them every day on the spot. It was just so exciting. I can't wait for people to see it because those two are a really dynamic duo this season.

As with all characters in the primary timeline, the origin story of the silos will likely reshape how fans view characters like Juliette, Robert, and Camille. The revelations from the flashbacks will solve several mysteries within the main story, but not everyone involved in the show wanted the silos' origins to affect the unknowingness of the characters. Common notably steered away from learning about the Before Times details, though he made sure to point out how history "definitely informs us of who we are in the present in certain ways."

Common: Honestly, when I was working on this season, I did my best not to even read the scenes that happened in the 'Before Times' because I felt like this is something that I knew Robert Sims wouldn't know. He wouldn't know, really, and none of the people in the silo truly knew how we got there, and it was something as an audience member, I wanted to know how we got there, but I didn't want to have that information yet for my character until I finish the season and the show. I didn't dig into the 'Before Times,' but I do recognize that, of course, history, it definitely informs us of who we are in the present in certain ways.

And it was certain things that I believe that we could have, if we had that information, we would've been able to move in certain ways and know better of how to function in the present day. When they take your history, they take a lot away from how self-empowered and free you could be as a person. That goes to a lot of deeper conversations in society of people whose history has been wiped away, and taken away, and it takes time for them to find out who they are in the present day because of that.

Riley looked at it from another angle, pointing out how viewers of Silo will figure out some of the show's biggest answers before the characters in the show. As previously mentioned, the show will stray a bit from the books, so even avid fans of Hugh Howey's work will enjoy "putting puzzle pieces together."

Alexandria Riley: I love that the audience is informed of that information prior to the characters in the show. I love that they're a step ahead of us, and they can start linking things and putting puzzle pieces together before the characters realize. I think that was a really fun thing to do.

Silo season 3 is a storytelling game-changer with its split timeline format, but even with the abundance of answers to series-long questions, there's plenty of story left for the show's next chapter. Apple TV previously announced Silo season 4 will mark the end of the series, which was already filmed. When speaking about the show's conclusion, Common shared how they "ended it in a beautiful way without going too far." Riley shared similar sentiments, which should excite fans ahead of the show's final two seasons.

Alexandria Riley: We're biased, but it's beautifully done. I feel like we were really sad when it ended, but at the same time, it wasn't for the reason of, "Oh, it feels like it should continue." It was more like we're going to miss each other and miss everybody, because the way the story wraps up just feels perfect. And I think that is a testament to the writers and Graham and everyone like that. It just wraps so neatly, at a perfect time.

Silo season 3 premieres Friday, July 3, on Apple TV, with new episodes debuting weekly through September 4.

Release Date

May 5, 2023

Network

Apple TV

Showrunner

Graham Yost

Directors

Morten Tyldum, David Semel, Michael Dinner, Aric Avelino

Writers

Graham Yost, Hugh Howey, Jeffery Wang, Lekethia Dalcoe

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  Rebecca Ferguson

  Juliette Nichols

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