I thoroughly enjoyed it too. I appreciate how the flashbacks of Juliet’s childhood both magnified our understanding of her current circumstance and her character.
Good review. Other sites & fans have complained about this S2 premiere episode having so little action--and felt that there should have been a two-episode premiere. I felt that way, too. But, now I can also see your perspective about the little things that we could have zoned-in on and derived more satisfaction from. Now, about this episode. First, the very opening scene with the boy (Tim) running through the darkness with a fire torch illuminating his way. Tim is a Messenger to the others in silo--bringing them a message that leads to their deaths. Which may be one of the on-going themes of the series: knowledge CAN be dangerous and lead to destruction. And, yes, there is also a Prometheus element to Tim-the-Fire-Bringer. OK, enough of my "book report." Regarding the flashbacks, I see them as being essential to this episode, because these flashbacks remind us that Juliette is a problem-solver, going back to when she was a girl fixing & creating things from scrap. Which is what she does so effectively in the new silo. Otherwise, viewers would complain that it's unrealistic for Juliette to be able to figure out ways to overcome the challenges she faces in the new silo, by building things like the bridge; after the swing-rope failed. Note: some people are speculating that the rope was cut. Rewatch the scene after she climbed out of the water and is looking at the rope--the break is "even" and suggests it was cut. Is there someone (the man behind the door, or someone else) who has been watching Juliette? FYI, Juliette's original silo is #18, and the new silo--which is right next to #18--is silo #17.
Both the writer/showrunner , Graham Yost and the director Michael Dinner created one banger of a 2nd season opener. My only complaint with it is that some of the Silo 17 interior scenes, could have used less ambient lighting or (failing that) have been key lit at a different level and angles so the episode's visual storytelling was clearer. I had to re-watch several scenes like the one where it looked as though Juliette's rope was cut so that they better visually registered .
I had a fairly negative reaction to this episode, and that's uncharacteristic of me. It wasn't the lack of forward plot momentum, since I'm not the kind of viewer who needs answers to all questions immediately. Some of it stems from just how dark (lighting-wise) it was and how much I struggled to figure out WTF was going on. Some of it could be that the episode starts off with people I've never seen before and don't care about (but I'm usually a more sophisticated viewer than that). And some of it could be that I was having a mood and didn't realize it. On paper, those scenes of Juliette engineering her way through the silo (pun intended) represent good writing, acting and narrative pacing. But the practical effect didn't hit that way at all for me. I didn't feel any of the tension you described. There were too many of those scenes, and I got frustrated after about 2 of the montages (they weren't technically montages, but you know what I mean). Now that I've heard your reaction, I'm gonna watch it again and see if my opinion changes. I LOVED the first season, so I really want this to work.
![Silo | Season 2x1 | "The Engineer" [Episode Analysis]](/img/n.gif)
I thoroughly enjoyed it too. I appreciate how the flashbacks of Juliet’s childhood both magnified our understanding of her current circumstance and her character.
Good review. Other sites & fans have complained about this S2 premiere episode having so little action--and felt that there should have been a two-episode premiere. I felt that way, too. But, now I can also see your perspective about the little things that we could have zoned-in on and derived more satisfaction from.
Now, about this episode. First, the very opening scene with the boy (Tim) running through the darkness with a fire torch illuminating his way. Tim is a Messenger to the others in silo--bringing them a message that leads to their deaths. Which may be one of the on-going themes of the series: knowledge CAN be dangerous and lead to destruction. And, yes, there is also a Prometheus element to Tim-the-Fire-Bringer. OK, enough of my "book report."
Regarding the flashbacks, I see them as being essential to this episode, because these flashbacks remind us that Juliette is a problem-solver, going back to when she was a girl fixing & creating things from scrap. Which is what she does so effectively in the new silo. Otherwise, viewers would complain that it's unrealistic for Juliette to be able to figure out ways to overcome the challenges she faces in the new silo, by building things like the bridge; after the swing-rope failed.
Note: some people are speculating that the rope was cut. Rewatch the scene after she climbed out of the water and is looking at the rope--the break is "even" and suggests it was cut. Is there someone (the man behind the door, or someone else) who has been watching Juliette?
FYI, Juliette's original silo is #18, and the new silo--which is right next to #18--is silo #17.
Both the writer/showrunner , Graham Yost and the director Michael Dinner created one banger of a 2nd season opener. My only complaint with it is that some of the Silo 17 interior scenes, could have used less ambient lighting or (failing that) have been key lit at a different level and angles so the episode's visual storytelling was clearer. I had to re-watch several scenes like the one where it looked as though Juliette's rope was cut so that they better visually registered .
Ive been waiting to use my free three months for apple tv for this show.
I had a fairly negative reaction to this episode, and that's uncharacteristic of me. It wasn't the lack of forward plot momentum, since I'm not the kind of viewer who needs answers to all questions immediately. Some of it stems from just how dark (lighting-wise) it was and how much I struggled to figure out WTF was going on. Some of it could be that the episode starts off with people I've never seen before and don't care about (but I'm usually a more sophisticated viewer than that). And some of it could be that I was having a mood and didn't realize it.
On paper, those scenes of Juliette engineering her way through the silo (pun intended) represent good writing, acting and narrative pacing. But the practical effect didn't hit that way at all for me. I didn't feel any of the tension you described. There were too many of those scenes, and I got frustrated after about 2 of the montages (they weren't technically montages, but you know what I mean). Now that I've heard your reaction, I'm gonna watch it again and see if my opinion changes. I LOVED the first season, so I really want this to work.
I agree with you about the lighting in the new silo. It makes sense that it would be dark--but it doesn't work for the viewers.