Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Silo Season 3’s finale.With Silo Season 3 at an end, theories are already flying about how the story will conclude in Season 4, which is confirmed to be the Apple TV show’s final chapter. And I have one that will totally change how viewers go into the remaining episodes. Since the beginning, the series has followed Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) and her explorations into the truth about the silo and its origins. At the end of Season 2, the backstory involving politician Daniel Keene (Ashley Zukerman) comes into play. And by the end of Season 3, these two stories converge.
Seeing everything play out and trying to piece it all together (without having read the Hugh Howey novels the show is based on), I think I have figured out something huge about how these two individuals connect. There’s a lot of evidence to back my theory up, and if it proves true, I think it would make total sense in the grander scheme of the show.
Up until Silo Season 3’s ending, it wasn’t feasible for Daniel and Jules to ever meet face to face. Daniel’s story is being told between the years 2049 and 2052, while Jules is living in 2352. But now we know he has been kept in a cryogenic chamber for more than 300 years. He is defrosted and brought back to life periodically by the now-deceased Viktor (Matt Craven) whenever his services, leadership, and ruthless decision-making skills are needed.
Even without that knowledge, there’s a strong chance that Jules is his descendent. We now know from the finale that Daniel and Helen (Jessica Henwick) were at the silos when the massive explosion occurred. Daniel was standing just outside Silo 1, where he still resides, while Helen was conveniently taken to tour Silo 18, where Jules lives. Pregnant at the time, if Helen survived and gave birth, her child (and thus, Daniel’s) may have lived a fruitful life, grown up, and had children of their own. Continue that ancestral line, and it could lead straight to Jules.
What makes this theory more plausible — and could give Daniel and Jules a closer connection — is knowing Daniel is still around and periodically unfrozen. As such, it’s possible that he fathered another child at any point between then and now. We know for certain that he was unfrozen about 30 years prior, as he was responsible for the deaths following the rebellion of Silo 17. If Silo 1 had more people than Viktor and Daniel’s sister Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay), he could have had a child with one of them.
Maybe this child isn’t Jules, though the age could fit. But he could be her grandfather, great-grandfather, or any number of relatives.
I think this theory makes sense, not necessarily in a “Luke, I am your father” way, but to further connect dots of the story. Given all the clues that have dropped, it would add to the narrative and finally bring these puzzle pieces together in a meaningful way.
The Clues That Back Up This ‘Silo’ Theory
Aside from Helen being in Silo 18 while pregnant, consider the qualities that she and Jules share in common. Jules is strong-willed and rebellious, just like Helen. She’s also hard-headed, precise, and practical-minded, just like Daniel. The catalyst to Jules fighting back against the system was the death of her boyfriend, George (Ferdinand Kingsley). He was starting to figure things out, and it’s possible he knew even more than he revealed to Jules.
Most notably, remember that George is the one who gave Jules the duck Pez dispenser, which has held significance throughout the show. This relic from the “before times” was initially owned by Daniel, who gave it to Helen after their dinner meeting (that he mistakenly thought was a date). In Silo Season 3, Robert Sims (Common) gives it to his son to protect him, but then later returns the relic to Jules, claiming that it “belongs to her.“
Interestingly, it’s this candy dispenser that helps jog Jules’ memory after starting to come off the forgetting drugs. When she sees it, inspects it, and thinks hard, she starts to remember George. From there, everything comes flooding back. And I suspect it might do the same for Troy, making this Pez dispenser crucial to the story.
At the end of Silo Season 3, following Viktor’s death by suicide, he leaves “Troy,” a.k.a. Daniel, a parting gift: a video revealing Helen’s name. That’s all it takes for a hint of recognition to seep back into Daniel’s brain. The look of sadness on his face in this close-up shot leaves no doubt that he is starting to remember her. And if he remembers where he last saw Helen, it means he’s headed to Silo 18 in hopes she’s still alive (in a similar chamber), or at least someone there knows something. It’s there he could reunite with this forbidden relic, and it could do the same for him that it did for Jules. That dispenser represents the memory of his first “date” with Helen, and it holds such significance for their relationship that she held onto it for all that time.
Another Twist in ‘Silo’ Could Point to George as the Descendant
Whatever direction the story goes in during Silo Season 4, it’s inevitable that Jules and Troy will meet. And I think the only thing that can keep them from harming one another is a deeper connection. Maybe it’s the mutual grief of both having lost their loves. However, I believe it could be something more.
While my theory is a direct relation between the two, others posit an interesting alternative that connects Daniel to someone else in Silo 18. On Reddit, Wounded_Shark noticed that the watch Daniel is seen wearing in some flashback scenes looks similar to Jules’ watch, suggesting they might be one and the same. Perhaps it’s handed down from generation to generation in the family. If so, remember that the watch was George’s, and he gave it to Jules. Idunnox1 thinks this is a hint that George was a descendant. They also point out that George’s family was part of the flamekeepers who were able to subvert the effects of the forgetting drugs by using hidden and forbidden relics to keep their memories intact. One of those relics, as noted, was the Pez dispenser, which George gave to Jules.
Some others suspect it could be Camille (Alexandria Riley), which further explains why she was chosen to be the next head of IT. It may also explain why her son was brought more into the story this season. But Intern_12 is with me, writing, “Juliette being a descendant of Helen and Daniel would be more impactful to the story [than George], potentially making Daniel want to save Silo 18 since it’s his and (or) Helen’s offspring’s Silo.“
Another option is that the connection is through Helen alone. If she survived in Silo 18, she could have gone on to have more children. The people in this lineage would not be direct descendants of Daniel, but he may feel the need to protect them given his deep love for her. This could point to any number of characters in Silo 18 being one of Helen’s descendants.
This Silo theory could be totally pie in the sky, or there could be something to it. What we do know is that Season 4 will bring an end to Jules’ story — and she’s either headed to Silo 1, or Troy is headed to Silo 18. Whatever happens, we’ll finally get answers and dive deeper into the core premise of the show, which involves the exploration of how our memories shape who we are and the impact of institutional fear and isolation as a trade-off for survival. You might know how things end in Howey’s final novel Dust. But this is TV entertainment, so a shocking plot twist wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. This one would be pretty epic.
