How Long Solo Has Been In The Vault In Silo

Warning! This article contains major spoilers for Silo season 2 and details surrounding Solo from Hugh Howey’s Silo books.

Solo seems to have spent many years in the vault in Silo 17, but Apple TV+’s Silo season 2 initially seems to maintain an air of ambiguity surrounding how long he has truly been there. Although Steven Zahn’s Solo was not a part of Silo season 1’s story, he has instantly become one of the most intriguing characters of the series. One of the biggest reasons Solo’s introduction in the Apple TV+ sci-fi show has been so compelling is that Steve Zahn perfectly captures how living in isolation for an unimaginably long time has impacted the character.

With his acting forte, Zahn portrays how Solo has grown both paranoid and vulnerable after spending years, if not decades, behind Silo 17’s vault. However, even though Zahn’s embodiment of the Silo season 2 character is enough to suggest he has been living in Silo 17’s vault for quite some time, the show does not reveal the exact figures in season 2’s early episodes. Fortunately, Hugh Howey’s first Silo book, Wool, gives more explicit information on how long Solo has lived in isolation in Silo 17.

Solo Has Been In The Vault For Over Three Decades

The Show Might Have Changed His Timeline

In the original Hugh Howey book series, Solo explicitly mentions that he is 50 years old when he meets Juliette. He seems confident about his age and appears to have carefully tracked the time he has spent in Silo 17’s vault. The source material also confirms that Solo was only 17 years old when the rebellion in Silo 17 killed everyone else. Therefore, considering the timeline mentioned in the books, Solo has been in the vault for nearly 33 years. While the show, too, might portray a similar timeline, it would not be surprising if it brought some changes to Solo’s age and backstory.

Related

Silo’s Judge Meadows Explained: Mayor’s Shadow, Red Relics & Why She Wants To Go Out

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.

Silo season 2’s episode 3 reveals that Solo was the Mayor’s shadow before things went downhill for the people in his Silo. In the books, however, Solo is not the Mayor’s shadow but only the IT head’s son. Since it seems unlikely that a Silo’s leading figure would appoint a 17-year-old as his shadow, Steven Zahn’s version of the character in the Apple TV+ series might have been older when the rebellion in Silo 17 took place before he locked himself behind the vault’s massive door after taking orders from the Mayor.

Does Solo Ever Leave Silo 17’s Vault?

He Only Leaves When Juliette Isn’t Around

When Juliette asks Solo to come out of the vault and help her in Silo season 2’s episode 3, he claims he never leaves the vault. However, Juliette catches him lying by asking how he left food for her outside without leaving. In response, the Steve Zahn character defends himself by saying he only leaves the vault when she is not around. Towards the final moments of Silo season 2’s episode 3, Solo is fascinated by how massive Silo 17 is when he finally leaves, suggesting that he has spent most of his time inside his vault.

The fact that Juliette finds some relatively less old dead bodies outside the vault suggests that he only left the vault a couple of times to overpower potential threats. While the show’s season 2 does not reveal where he gets his food in its early episodes, the books imply that Solo had a massive stock of supplies stored inside the vault. His supplies lasted him for over three decades, but he was finally on the verge of running out of food before Juliette walked in. Silo season 2 might portray something similar since it clearly suggests Solo rarely left the vault.

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

Release Date

May 5, 2023

Seasons

2

Directors

Morten Tyldum , David Semel

Showrunner

Graham Yost

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