No Book Spoilers: Who's The Real Villain in Apple's Silo TV Series?

Apple TV+ has not been around long but is already a household name. Launched in late 2019, it has since produced several genuinely great shows we can't imagine the entertainment industry without: Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, and Citadel are the network's top-tier productions everybody has heard of.

And now, Apple TV+ has released Silo, a science-fiction saga that became the talk of the town as soon as its first episode dropped.

Based on the Wool book series by Hugh Howey, the show is set in a post-apocalyptic world where everyone lives in a huge underground structure known as the silo. The show premiered in early May this year and concluded after ten episodes with a cliffhanger finale. The epic episode 10 ending had two big reveals: one is that the world outside the silo really is a wasteland, after all, and the second is that there are lots of other silos like the one our protagonist emerged from. These revelations have prompted viewers to reassess the story they were following.

And the question many people are asking now is who has been the main antagonist on Silo all this time. Throughout the first season, we saw most of the story unfold through the eyes of Juliette Nichols, a daring engineer-turned-sheriff who questions the existing order. As she tries to figure out what is going on, we are led to believe that Bernard Holland, the shady and scheming head of IT who becomes the mayor of Silo, is the big bad.

However, in the show's finale, we can see real fear in Bernard's eyes when he realises Juliette knows that what she's seeing through her helmet's visor is an illusion and then proceeds to walk off over the hill without her suit failing and her succumbing to the elements like all the previous cleaners.

Those who've read the books the show is based on understand what ramifications Juliette's departure has for the others and the reasons for Holland's terror. Meanwhile, those who haven't read the books are left to speculate about what it all means.

Now, it's clear from the finale that there is probably a whole network of silos. According to one theory, they are all run by one secret government, and Bernard is just its representative in the silo we've seen in the series. Meanwhile, Juliette's act of rebellion may result in their entire community being punished for upsetting the established order of things, and that's why Bernard freaked out at the sight of her waltzing over the hill.

Thus, in all probability, Silo's big bad hasn't been revealed yet; we've only been told enough to keep us hooked on the story. The true masterminds behind the whole system of silos will probably be introduced in subsequent seasons.

Season 2 is to be released in 2024. Meanwhile, you can rewatch the first season in its entirety on Apple TV+.