Warning! This article contains spoilers for Silo season 2's episode 4.Silo season 2's episode 4 features a surprising product placement scene that blatantly promotes an Apple product but still somehow manages to work. Given how product placement remains a common practice in TV shows and movies to generate revenue and build a brand or product's visibility, it is not surprising that Apple TV+'s Silo also subtly integrates a product into its storyline. However, Silo season 2 episode 4's product placement scene seems to completely catch one off-guard because it is hard to decide whether it is shameless or brilliant.
Based on Hugh Howey's Silo book series, the Apple TV+ sci-fi show is among the most compelling series on air right now. With Rebecca Ferguson as its lead, the mystery thriller series has been topping streaming charts, which is not surprising given how it perfectly immerses viewers into its compelling sci-fi drama and realistic character beats. While Silo season 2 is already giving audiences a lot to look forward to, one of its most memorable moments features an intriguing product placement that could have easily ruined the show's reputation.
Silo Season 2 Features Apple's Vision Pro In Episode 4
Bernard Makes Meadows Wear A VR Headset Before Her Death
Meadows' incessant requests to leave Silo 18 help Bernard realize that she is no longer his ally. After seeing her as a threat to the Silo's security, Bernard starts believing he can no longer have her around. Owing to this, after inviting her home for lunch, claiming that her cleaning suit is ready, Bernard poisons and kills her. The show implies that the two had a romantic history, which makes it incredibly hard for Bernard to let Meadows go. He even struggles to say "no" to her when she asks him to let her see the outside world's sky moments before she dies.
Tim Robbins thankfully does not pull off a
Truman Show
-esque moment where he dramatically unveils the device with an exaggerated flourish while breaking the fourth wall.
Although Bernard is unable to fulfill her last wish, he surprisingly pulls out a VR headset, which is clearly an Apple Vision Pro. For obvious reasons, the Apple TV+ show does not blatantly mention the product's name. However, it seems quite evident that it subtly attempts to promote the Apple device. Tim Robbins thankfully does not pull off a Truman Show-esque moment where he dramatically unveils the device with an exaggerated flourish while breaking the fourth wall. It is still hard not to notice what the scene is trying to achieve. Despite this, it surprisingly works.
The Product Placement Scene Surprisingly Serves Silo's Story
The Show Has Been Playing With The Concept Of VR Since Season 1
Even though the product placement scene in Silo season 2 is not too subtle, it perfectly manages to fit into the show's overarching narrative. Since season 1, Silo has been toying with the idea of virtual reality. Toward Silo season 1's ending moments, it is revealed that cleaners are provided with helmets that give them a fake, holographic view of the outside world. The VR projections from their helmets convince them the outside world has healed and is suitable for humans to survive. However, moments after they clean the sensors outside the Silo, the outside world's harsh conditions kill them.
Since Judge Mary Meadows is one of the main characters in Silo season 2, it is hard not to wonder how her arc will tie into the overarching narrative.
Through the cleaning suit's helmet, Silo season 1 established that VR technology has been around for quite some time. Most people in the Silo do not know about it because high-end technologies were banned in the underground city a long time ago. The introduction of VR in Silo's earlier story beats makes the Vision Pro scene from season 2 less jarring and more fitting to the established worldbuilding. It could have easily felt out of place if the show had introduced it for the sole purpose of product promotion. Thankfully, it appears as an organic extension of the show's established lore.
Tanya Moodie And Tim Robbins Make The Product Placement Work
The Actors Make The Product Placement Scene Seem Organic
By featuring Apple's Vision Pro, Silo could have easily risked diminishing the emotional impact of the scene where Meadows spends her final moments with Bernard while fulfilling her wish to see the outside world. However, Tim Robbins and Tanya Moodie deliver such incredible performances in the sequence that it becomes easy to focus more on the tragedy experienced by their respective characters and less on the product placement. If it wasn't for their powerful performances, the product placement could have potentially ruined one of the most memorable and poignant scenes from Silo season 2.
In a dystopian future, men and women reside in a vast underground silo governed by strict regulations, believed to shield them from the hazardous world above. The series delves into the complex social order within the silo and the mysteries surrounding their subterranean existence.
Cast Rebecca Ferguson , Common , Tim Robbins , Harriet Walter , Christian Ochoa Lavernia , Avi Nash , Billy Postlethwaite , Chinaza Uche , Iain Glen , Remmie Milner , David Oyelowo , Rick Gomez , Ferdinand Kingsley , Shane McRae , Chipo Chung , Caitlin Zoz , Matt Gomez Hidaka , Angela Yeoh , Olatunji Ayofe , Khairika Sinani , Will Patton , Akie Kotabe
Character(s) Juliette Nichols , Robert Sims , Bernard Holland , Martha Walker , Amundsen , Lukas Kyle , Hank , Paul Billings , Dr. Pete Nichols , Shirley , Sheriff Holston , Patrick Kennedy , George Wilkins , Knox , Sandy , Kathleen Billings , Cooper , Deputy Molly Karins , Teddy , Raider Jean , Deputy Marnes , Diego
Custom Image by Dhruv Sharma.
English (US) ·