I hadn't read Wool when I first watched Silo, which made the one-two punch of losing Allison and then Holston in those first two episodes pretty shocking. But it also meant that I was less immediately invested in Juliette and anything (or anyone) else that came out of these two episodes; having lost what felt like the most interesting and fleshed out characters, it actually took me a few months to go back and pick up Episode 3 (I watched Silo earlier this year). I also had feelings about the credits and what the series regular list meant - with so few of the listed regulars featured prominently (or at all) here, it was hard to find a reason to continue with the characters I liked gone and the ones I was supposed to perhaps glom onto just... not there, or (as of yet), of interest. Don't get me wrong, I really liked these two episodes! That's just what made it that much harder to choose to continue.
I had much the same reaction, although I was still able to truck on to episode 3 after. It also doesn't help that it feels a bit like a plot reset; we see two characters discover big things about the world and then have to wait for Juliette to catch up. Plus, her motivation being different (solving her boyfriend's death rather than tackling the higher conspiracies within the Silo) also means her path to catching up to what Allison and Holston know is a little more roundabout. To be fair, that's probably also just a storytelling need, they couldn't have her finding everything out immediately!
I'm glad I stuck through (for Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Robbins, maybe less so for Common - looking forward to what future reviews and discussions have to say about that) but yeah, these first two episodes were a one-two punch.
Had the same impression after the 2nd episode. Ferguson delivers a good performance, but somehow Oyelowo and Jones were great main reference points, and their story much more immediately compelling. Ferguson as a main character (is she? I'll just assume she's a central player) is a little bit more difficult to fully get a grip on. I'm curious how the character roster will develop though - Oyelowo already made a return in the 2nd episode in the least and I can see the creators switching things up with the cast due to the nature of mystery oriented shows like these.
I'm excited for these reviews! I found Silo extremely gripping last year. I went in knowing nothing and so that what appeared to be the two main characters played by big name actors were (seemingly, I won't spoil anything) killed off in the first couple episodes was very intriguing. And I found myself over time fascinated by the technical workings of the silo--both mundane stuff like how they avoid eyes atrophying in the relative darkness and mysterious stuff like why they apparently don't use elevators.
I know you don't want to talk *too* much about the book (definitely read the sequels), but the show departs from the source material in ways both interesting and baffling, so I want a chance to (sometimes) complain lol. The role of Judicial in the show is something that I think deserves a *lot* of discussion.
I think it was really fun and fairly novel the way they slow rolled the introduction of the world and the characters, and I'm glad things weren't rushed. The big downside is that Holston and Allison are such great characters, and their absence is really missed! They also are the only ones that leave the us fairly quickly, and that's both really impactful in terms of the drama of the show, but also a hard series of hard losses to get over. I guess it's a good problem to have? You raise a great point that being a book reader (also guilty of that) really changes how all of this hits, and it gives you a roadmap of the show that new viewers won't have.
Without getting into spoilers, I do think you raise a good point about the expected impact of cleaning the sensors versus not, given that we know or are wondering. It's a point that I think the show actually serves to make muddier than the book (maybe because it's a visual medium). I wondered about it while reading, but when watching I was really struck by it.
This was one of my favourite discoveries when we had AppleTV for a few months. I've owned the books for years and never got round to reading them, and was all set to at least read the first one after finishing this season but then learned that season 1 only covered about one-third of the first book. So I've held off on reading to keep the surprises for the TV version (for now...not sure my resolve will last for as long as it might take this show to get to the end)
I found out about Silo after watching Fallout and finding an article about other post-apocalyptic shows! Knew nothing about the books and binged it he show pretty quickly and had a lot of questions throughout, so I’m excited this show will be covered. I also found Holston and Alison to be really compelling characters and was sad to lose them so quickly.
Having recently finished the 1st season, I found it was a pretty dead-on perfect adaptation of the book (here meaning Wool) in that the first bit about Holsten and Allison was hugely compelling, moving and kept me hooked but then it slowed right the hell down for loads of the rest of the show until eventually picking up as we get towards the end. Enjoyable and frustrating in equal measure but interesting that I felt the exact same thing at the same time when reading the book as watching the show
I'm excited you are doing these reviews. Especially because I read the 1st book after watching the 1st season, and it'll be really helpful to remember what happens when in the series. I'm afraid it's all gotten quite twisted in my mind in the year since I watched/read it.
I'm having fun diving into this show. One early thing I'm noting that I'm curious about is if other people feel the female characters are sort of being dismissed throughout the first two episodes? Like Jones' character, presents her husband with clear evidence of there being a real possibility of foul play (extracting the implanted device with a knife) but her husband just calls her crazy lol. Also feel like Jones' character went a LITTLE overboard from being a skeptic to being full-blown paranoid, would've been nice to see her follow he same path but in a more grounded fashion. There were other notes were it felt like women (e.g. Ferguson's character in in the 2nd episode, who is a bad-ass but still needed to be consoled by George) were portrayed a bit more sub-assertive throughout.
I'm not generally looking for gender themes but the above stood out to me watching anyway. I dropped the show after the first episode last year but hearing the people's opinions (apparently episode quality is pretty inconsistent) made me curious. Also I respect a show like this having a clear idea about what it wants to do and just following through, which is sort of refreshing in a tv landscape like today (this really does feel like a show that could've aired during or shortly after LOST became a big thing).
I hadn't read Wool when I first watched Silo, which made the one-two punch of losing Allison and then Holston in those first two episodes pretty shocking. But it also meant that I was less immediately invested in Juliette and anything (or anyone) else that came out of these two episodes; having lost what felt like the most interesting and fleshed out characters, it actually took me a few months to go back and pick up Episode 3 (I watched Silo earlier this year). I also had feelings about the credits and what the series regular list meant - with so few of the listed regulars featured prominently (or at all) here, it was hard to find a reason to continue with the characters I liked gone and the ones I was supposed to perhaps glom onto just... not there, or (as of yet), of interest. Don't get me wrong, I really liked these two episodes! That's just what made it that much harder to choose to continue.
I had much the same reaction, although I was still able to truck on to episode 3 after. It also doesn't help that it feels a bit like a plot reset; we see two characters discover big things about the world and then have to wait for Juliette to catch up. Plus, her motivation being different (solving her boyfriend's death rather than tackling the higher conspiracies within the Silo) also means her path to catching up to what Allison and Holston know is a little more roundabout. To be fair, that's probably also just a storytelling need, they couldn't have her finding everything out immediately!
I'm glad I stuck through (for Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Robbins, maybe less so for Common - looking forward to what future reviews and discussions have to say about that) but yeah, these first two episodes were a one-two punch.
Had the same impression after the 2nd episode. Ferguson delivers a good performance, but somehow Oyelowo and Jones were great main reference points, and their story much more immediately compelling. Ferguson as a main character (is she? I'll just assume she's a central player) is a little bit more difficult to fully get a grip on. I'm curious how the character roster will develop though - Oyelowo already made a return in the 2nd episode in the least and I can see the creators switching things up with the cast due to the nature of mystery oriented shows like these.
Hooray for Silo coverage! I am a huge book fan and have mixed opinions on the adaptation changes but overall I like the show a bunch.
I'm excited for these reviews! I found Silo extremely gripping last year. I went in knowing nothing and so that what appeared to be the two main characters played by big name actors were (seemingly, I won't spoil anything) killed off in the first couple episodes was very intriguing. And I found myself over time fascinated by the technical workings of the silo--both mundane stuff like how they avoid eyes atrophying in the relative darkness and mysterious stuff like why they apparently don't use elevators.
I know you don't want to talk *too* much about the book (definitely read the sequels), but the show departs from the source material in ways both interesting and baffling, so I want a chance to (sometimes) complain lol. The role of Judicial in the show is something that I think deserves a *lot* of discussion.
I think it was really fun and fairly novel the way they slow rolled the introduction of the world and the characters, and I'm glad things weren't rushed. The big downside is that Holston and Allison are such great characters, and their absence is really missed! They also are the only ones that leave the us fairly quickly, and that's both really impactful in terms of the drama of the show, but also a hard series of hard losses to get over. I guess it's a good problem to have? You raise a great point that being a book reader (also guilty of that) really changes how all of this hits, and it gives you a roadmap of the show that new viewers won't have.
Without getting into spoilers, I do think you raise a good point about the expected impact of cleaning the sensors versus not, given that we know or are wondering. It's a point that I think the show actually serves to make muddier than the book (maybe because it's a visual medium). I wondered about it while reading, but when watching I was really struck by it.
This was one of my favourite discoveries when we had AppleTV for a few months. I've owned the books for years and never got round to reading them, and was all set to at least read the first one after finishing this season but then learned that season 1 only covered about one-third of the first book. So I've held off on reading to keep the surprises for the TV version (for now...not sure my resolve will last for as long as it might take this show to get to the end)
I found out about Silo after watching Fallout and finding an article about other post-apocalyptic shows! Knew nothing about the books and binged it he show pretty quickly and had a lot of questions throughout, so I’m excited this show will be covered. I also found Holston and Alison to be really compelling characters and was sad to lose them so quickly.
Having recently finished the 1st season, I found it was a pretty dead-on perfect adaptation of the book (here meaning Wool) in that the first bit about Holsten and Allison was hugely compelling, moving and kept me hooked but then it slowed right the hell down for loads of the rest of the show until eventually picking up as we get towards the end. Enjoyable and frustrating in equal measure but interesting that I felt the exact same thing at the same time when reading the book as watching the show
I'm excited you are doing these reviews. Especially because I read the 1st book after watching the 1st season, and it'll be really helpful to remember what happens when in the series. I'm afraid it's all gotten quite twisted in my mind in the year since I watched/read it.
I'm having fun diving into this show. One early thing I'm noting that I'm curious about is if other people feel the female characters are sort of being dismissed throughout the first two episodes? Like Jones' character, presents her husband with clear evidence of there being a real possibility of foul play (extracting the implanted device with a knife) but her husband just calls her crazy lol. Also feel like Jones' character went a LITTLE overboard from being a skeptic to being full-blown paranoid, would've been nice to see her follow he same path but in a more grounded fashion. There were other notes were it felt like women (e.g. Ferguson's character in in the 2nd episode, who is a bad-ass but still needed to be consoled by George) were portrayed a bit more sub-assertive throughout.
I'm not generally looking for gender themes but the above stood out to me watching anyway. I dropped the show after the first episode last year but hearing the people's opinions (apparently episode quality is pretty inconsistent) made me curious. Also I respect a show like this having a clear idea about what it wants to do and just following through, which is sort of refreshing in a tv landscape like today (this really does feel like a show that could've aired during or shortly after LOST became a big thing).