‘Silo’ Season 2, episode 9: What really happened to Solo?

Silo Season 2 is nearing its end, and the main mysteries are starting to reveal themselves.

One of the big ones, which has been a question mark since the start of the second season? The real identity of Solo (Steve Zahn), the somewhat erratic occupant of Silo 17’s vault who Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) meets in the first episode.

After some ambiguity over whether he’s a friend or a foe, episode 9 finally reveals who exactly Solo is. And the reveal is way more upsetting than we were expecting.

Who is Solo, really?

Back in episode 3, Solo told Juliette that he was the shadow of Silo 17’s head of IT, Russell. “Russell told me don’t — no matter what — never let anyone in the vault,” he tells Juliette. “Ever.”

There were some signs even then that he may not be telling Juliette the whole truth, but in episode 8 we finally learn exactly what Solo was lying about. He was never the head of IT’s shadow, because he was only 12 years old at the time the rebellion took place.

Solo’s real name is, in fact, Jimmy. He’s Russell’s son.

What happened when Solo was a child?

After revealing to Juliette and the young survivors holding him hostage that he only killed their parents out of self-defense when they broke into the vault and shot him, Solo finally reveals what happened to him during the rebellion.

“Jimmy was a coward,” he says. “Jimmy hid behind a door while the sheriff held a gun to his father’s head. All he had to do was open the door and he didn’t, so… Does that sound like the son of a hero to you? Russell would have been ashamed to have a son like that.”

Solo/Jimmy’s story is accompanied by a fairly upsetting flashback from the day of the rebellion. In it we see a young Jimmy standing in the vault, looking out through the window in terror as the rebellion’s leader holds a gun to his father’s head before pulling the trigger.

This flashback goes a long way to explaining Solo’s behaviour in Season 2, from his craving for human interaction to his obsession with protecting the vault. It’s why his moods swing so dramatically, jumping from excitable bursts to sudden angry flare-ups. In a way, although he’s aged physically, Solo is still that traumatised 12-year-old boy watching his father get killed. The moment has trapped him in a childlike state.

His decision to let Juliette and Silo 17’s other occupants into the vault at the end? Hopefully that’s a sign that he may finally be able to start healing.

How to watch: Silo is streaming now on Apple TV+ with new episodes releasing weekly.