In the Season 2 poster of Silo on Apple TV+, Rebecca Ferguson, portraying mechanic Juliette, is seen struggling to stay above water. This powerful image, showing her partially submerged, has become a symbolic teaser for what’s to come in the new season — a literal and metaphorical dive into the unknown.
Juliette is known for her resourcefulness, a problem solver capable of overcoming almost any challenge. However, she’s now faced with a desperate situation. Having sought refuge in a neighboring silo, which has been ravaged by rebellion, Juliette finds herself in a dire predicament. Her mission is to return to her own silo, but the rebellion she may have inadvertently triggered is now spiraling out of control.
The situation grows more complicated with the discovery of a lone survivor in this damaged silo — Solo (Steve Zahn). Though initially appearing harmless, Solo’s erratic behavior makes him a major obstacle for Juliette. After hiding her vital oxygen suit, he demands her help in restoring the power to the silo’s water pump, which lies submerged beneath eight stories of water. For someone raised in an underground society, this may as well be an impossible task, as swimming is a forgotten skill.
But Juliette has no choice. In Episode 7, Juliette faces the daunting challenge of diving underwater to fix the pump, an ordeal that’s been foreshadowed by the season’s dramatic poster. Although the filming for the scene was over a year ago, Ferguson still vividly recalls the challenges of shooting the underwater sequences. The production built a water tank on their London set, but it was nowhere near deep enough to simulate the full dive. Using clever camera angles, they made it look like Juliette was diving into the depths, which meant more time spent in the water for Ferguson, who is thankful for the dive team’s expertise.
Yet, the real challenge wasn’t just staying submerged. Juliette’s dive had to reflect the character’s gritty determination and fear, all while working with a breathing apparatus that was anything but standard. “The regulator isn’t a typical device,” Ferguson explains. “It shoots air directly into your lungs, which takes some getting used to. You have to bite down and wait for the air to fill your lungs, which can mess with your mind.” Ferguson admits that, at times, the experience was disorienting and tricky, especially as she had to avoid a dangerous condition known as “the bends” — the painful results of ascending too quickly after diving.
Solo’s concerns about the dive only add to the tension. Despite his fears, he pushes Juliette into the dive, knowing she’s the only one who can help him. Their fraught dynamic is a key element of their relationship, as Ferguson points out. “Steve did such a brilliant job portraying Solo’s vulnerability, revealing his fear and his dependence on Juliette, even as he’s blackmailing her.”
Their tense relationship, built on necessity rather than friendship, evolves as they work together, forced to confront their mutual reliance on each other for survival. Zahn himself sees the bond between the characters as one forged through shared struggles. “When you share vulnerabilities, you get closer,” he says, explaining the subtle growth in their connection.
In the underwater sequence, the tension peaks when Juliette manages to restart the pump and signals Solo to pull her back up. But things take an unexpected turn when her tethers are severed, leaving her to face certain death. Was this sabotage by Solo, or is there a larger, more dangerous force at play in the silo? Ferguson teases that the remaining episodes of the season will explore whether Juliette and Solo’s relationship can withstand these increasingly dire circumstances.
As Ferguson hints, the pair’s complicated relationship will continue to evolve, driven by necessity and survival. “If we met in a bar, we probably wouldn’t even say hello,” she laughs. “But that’s what makes their dynamic so interesting and essential to the story.”
