Silo season 1 ending explained: What's really outside the silo in Apple TV+ hit?

Members of the silo have been warned that if they leave to enter the outside world, they do so at risk of death - although some begin to question whether the world outside is as dangerous as they have been led to believe.

With all records destroyed, the community is oblivious as to what happened before life in the silo began - that is, until Juliette starts digging for information following her promotion to sheriff when David Oyelowo's Sheriff Holston leaves her in charge.

While season 1 finally saw Juliette step outside the silo, season 2 sees her meet Steve Zahn's Solo. Ferguson told RadioTimes.com of season 2: "She has to be in a situation now where she's handling human beings, and it's something that she doesn't know how that works.

"You know, she's up against a person [Solo] who you don't know, is a threat, is an absolute lunatic, or is there to support and help."

She continued: "And they create a bond, and that's very unusual, but with that comes a lot of compromise and issues and very scary scenarios. So it's not a machine, but actually a person she has to work around."

So, read on for everything you need to know about the Silo season 1 finale.

Silo ending explained: What's really outside the silo in Apple TV+ hit?

The final episode of Silo season 1 answered this question in a big way - outside the silo, Juliette discovered dozens of other silos. Fans of the books will know there are actually 50.

Throughout the series, one big question dominated the curious minds inside the silo: does the display on the inside actually reflect what's on the outside?

We got a big clue when Allison (Rashida Jones) left the silo. Allison believed that the bleak view on the display was false, and that actually the skies were blue outside. She told her husband Holston (David Oyelowo) that if she was right, when she got outside, she would use her wool to clean the display - which she eventually did.

But episode 10 is the first time we see outside for ourselves. As Juliette's request to leave the silo is granted, she tells Bernard: "I'm not afraid" and steps out - into a world that appears to have green grass, trees, and birdsong.

However, she knows that the display is a lie. She turns back to the camera and drops her wool, becoming the first person the history of the silo to refuse to clean.

She appears to come across Holston's body, but then stumbles into a rock, with her hand going right through it, making it clear that it's an illusion of some sort. She places his Sheriff's badge on the ground, returning it after he left it to her.

As Juliette makes it up the hill, her helmet shows her a view of lush green grass. In the silo, Bernard rushes to the server room - and Juliette's view immediately changes to show the bleak landscape she's been told is out there, proving that the beautiful landscape was actually a false view, not the view in the silo.

That's not all - as the camera pans upwards, it shows what appear to be countless other silos, with an abandoned city landscape on the horizon.

How did Juliette survive outside the silo at the end of Silo season 1?

Juliette survived outside the silo for one reason - Walker (played by Harriet Walter) replaced the substandard tape on her suit with more effective heat tape from supply.

Fans might remember that, before she was sent out to clean, Juliette received a note from Walker, which cryptically said: "They're good in Supply." This referred to the tape, confirming that she'd been successful in switching it out.

It confirms a horrifying truth about the silo - that the powers that be (so, Bernard), who sent all those before Juliette out to clean, were complicit in their deaths and could have actually prevented them.

Seeing Juliette walk over the hill will only open up more questions in the silo in season 2, as a rebellion breaks out at home.

What does the end of Silo season 1 mean?

The end of Silo season 1 shows that the residents of the silo have been lied to their whole lives. For the people in the silo, seeing Juliette walk over the hill will tear the scales from their eyes.

Speaking about what Juliette's feeling in that moment, author Howey told RadioTimes.com: "Try to put yourself in her place.

"Of all the things you could expect to see when you get over the hill, what she finds has got to be the very last thing on her list and the heartbreak.

"If you feel like your people have it tough and you get to the top and having that magnified, that mix of terror but also maybe hope and maybe fear."

Silo is available to stream on Apple TV+ - you can sign up to Apple TV+ here. Hugh Howey's Wool Trilogy is available to buy now.

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