Warning! This article contains spoilers for Silo season 2's episode 6.
Bernard and Lukas may not have decoded the cryptic message in Salvador Quinn's letter, but viewers have come up with an intriguing Silo season 2 theory that explains what the letter could mean. Even though Silo season 2, like season 1, is based on Hugh Howey's Silo books, it takes many massive creative liberties that make the series significantly different from the source material. The Apple TV+ sci-fi show still stays true to the essence of the books but introduces many unique story and character beats that book readers know nothing about.
One of these character beats revolves around a mysterious figure, Salvador Quinn, who was Silo 18's mayor during the last rebellion. Although little seems to be known about what happened to Quinn, many story developments in Silo season 2 have confirmed he left a cryptic message in a letter he had written to his wife. Tim Robbins' Silo character, Bernard, had previously destroyed the hard drive that contained Quinn's message. However, after Meadows mentions it moments before her death, Bernard's curiosity gets the best of him, and he hires Lukas to decode it.
Salvador Quinn's Decoded Message In Silo Season 2 Explained
Some Viewers Have Already Decoded The Message's First Few Lines
Although Lukas manages to fix the smashed hard drive and extract many of its files, he struggles to make sense out of Quinn's letter. He attempts to apply a Caesar shift to decode the message, but that does not do the trick. In Silo season 2 episode 6's ending moments, Bernard makes him his shadow to give him access to "The Legacy," hoping that it will help him solve the mystery. While only time will tell whether Lukas will decode the message, some viewers (via Reddit) have already figured out what the coded lines of the message mean:
"If you’ve gotten this far you already know.
The game is rigged.
We think we’re the chosen ones, but we’re only one of many
The founders didn’t build a single silo
They built fifty
And they created the safeguard
We have been lied to.
We are not safe.
Our home is not a sanctuary but a trap.
The fate of this silo is determined by another
One with the power to kill everyone here in an
Instant reason be damned.
If you don’t believe me go to the very bottom of the silo,
Down the tunnel, you will get confirmation there."
Salvador Quinn's Letter Is A Warning: Silo Theory Explained
The Letter Suggests Bernard Has Been Lied To
The first few lines of Quinn's message say something about them believing they are the chosen ones. This could mean that both Quinn and Bernard were led to believe that their Silo would repopulate the world after the toxic environment outside becomes habitable again. However, as the letter suggests, this belief is a lie because the creators built a total of fifty silos. The fact that Quinn calls their Silo a trap and not a sanctuary suggests that they could be a part of a grand experiment that was set up to determine which Silo would ultimately repopulate the world.
Sheriff Billings' Syndrome symptoms suddenly dwindle in Silo season 2's episode 6, raising questions surrounding the mysterious nature of his illness.
Quinn's message also points to another silo, which seemingly has the power to kill people in all others in an instant. This could explain why Bernard is so worried about the rebellion because he knows that if things go awry, the ones from the leading silo will not think twice before terminating Silo 18 and killing all citizens. It also seems likely that the people of Silo 17 were killed by the creators who reside in the main powerful silo mentioned in the letter.
If things go out of control in a silo, the creators probably implement "the safeguard," which involves refreshing everyone's memory using the drug.
The letter also says something about a safeguard, which could be linked with the cleaning protocol and the memory-erasing drug. If things go out of control in a silo, the creators probably implement "the safeguard," which involves refreshing everyone's memory using the drug. Or, the safeguard could be a reference to a safe haven in the outside world, which has been reserved specifically for the survivors of the chosen silo. The message's ending asks the reader to go down the tunnel at the bottom of the silo to find evidence, hinting the tunnel could lead one to other silos.
How Bernard Will React To Salvador Quinn's Warning
The Warning Will Likely Shatter How Bernard Sees His World
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon.
The scale of how much Bernard knows about their world remains unknown. However, many story developments in Silo season 2 suggest he knows some half-truths about the consequences of a rebellion. For instance, he is not surprised when he sees Juliette entering another silo in Silo season 2's early moments. What scares him is that all the citizens of the other silo are dead. This suggests he has known about the existence of the other silos for quite some time. However, he may not know that only one of the many silos was eventually going to be chosen.
Silo season 2 is following the story beats from the second half of Hugh Howey's first Silo book, Wool.
Once he understands the true scope of the inhumane experiment they are a part of after decoding Quinn's message, his reaction may not be too different from Meadows'. Meadows was Bernard's loyal shadow before she read Quinn's message and realized their world was far more bleak and damned than she had imagined. After Bernard has the same realization in Silo season 2's future episodes, he, too, might question his own stance as a leader and resort to extreme measures.
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.
Release Date
May 5, 2023
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.
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon.
English (US) ·