Freedom Day (episode)

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**Freedom Day** is the first episode of the Apple TV+ series *Silo*. Written by Graham Yost and directed by Morten Tyldum, it aired on May 5, 2023, alongside the second episode of the series, "Holston's Pick".

## Synopsis

*Sheriff Becker's plans for the future are thrown off course after his wife meets a hacker with information about the silo.*

## Plot

Sheriff Holston Becker moves through the Silo in seemingly his ordinary morning routine. Starting by putting on his badge then placing flowers in front of a mirror, and fidgeting with a loose vent. He arrives at his office in the Sheriff Department where he writes a note, takes off his badge, and then asks Deputy Sam Marnes to meet him in Holding 3. When Marnes arrives, Holston has locked himself inside and thrown the key into the corridor. Holston tells Marnes he wants to see his wife, and while Marnes pleads for him to not to say the words, Holston tells him that he "wants to go out."

Two years earlier, Holston and his wife Allison find out they have been granted childbearing status for the next year, although this will be their third and final chance to conceive. At breakfast, they are approached by Gloria Hildebrandt, a fertility counselor who Holston believes perpetrates fraud by promising people babies if they do what she says. Gloria doesn't say anything illegal, but asks Allison to see her if she has an open mind. Allison has her birth control device removed by Doctor Leonard and they immediately start trying for a baby.

With 342 days left, Allison talks with Karen in the IT Department about trying for a baby. They are interrupted by Bernard Holland who tells Allison that he removed a post that she put up on the BBS about how to recover deleted files. Although Allison wanted to cut down on service calls, Bernard tells her there are processes for a reason. Allison admits to Holston later that she knew she was breaking the rules but thinks there are too many rules and wonders why even asking questions about before the rebellion is forbidden.

With only 157 days remaining, Allison is still not pregnant. The Silo prepares for the celebration of Freedom Day, and Mayor Ruth Jahns is worried about violence or disruption. Holston and Marnes assure her that things will go smoothly. Jahns comments that the view from the sensor showing the outside world is getting harder to see because there has not been a Cleaning in a long time. Holston thinks this is good and means things in the Silo are going well, but Jahns knows that people need to see what is out there to remind them.

Allison meets with Gloria again, who asks to see her in private. Gloria is worried about people listening in and starts the water running. She begins telling Allison that others like her wonder about what was on the destroyed servers and burned books from before the Rebellion, and even if the Rebels were responsible. Then Gloria asks Allison if she thinks she's the type of person "they" want to have children. Allison related the conversation to Holston who wants to send a psych team to her.

As Freedom Day approaches, Karen gives Allison a request from George Wilkins, a programmer in the Mids. Because he wants someone there in the morning, Allison has to travel to the Mids and stay overnight in a hostel. Since Holston will be working the Freedom Day celebrations, Allison doesn't mind working.

As Freedom Day is remembered, Allison meets with George who shows her an old hard drive he has acquired. George is pleased he managed to get Allison after several tries, since he wanted to talk to her specifically. George printed out her post on recovering deleted files and found that the hard drive has files on it, but he can't access them. The hard drive's serial number isn't recorded by IT and could be over one hundred and forty years old, predating the Rebellion and in danger of being a Relic. As the celebrations continue, Allison manages to access the drive and finds it full of files including blueprints of the Silo. Realizing it is a Relic, Allison tells George to bury it and leaves. George begins looking through the files.

Both of Allison's recent experiences rattle her and she starts looking for answers. She goes to see Gloria again and asks her why they don't want people to have children. Allison also goes to see George again and they look through the files on the hard drive together. One file, "Jane Carmody Cleaning," seems to show a green and lush outside world.

Allison is at the end of her year to be pregnant, and her appointment with Doctor Leonard to have her birth control reinstalled is scheduled. She doesn't make it, and when Holston finds her at home, she begins to tell him about what she found and offers proof; her own birth control device that she just dug out of herself. The entire process was a sham and she was never going to be able to conceive. Allison is bleeding and Holston goes for the doctor but when he returns Deputy Marnes tells him Allison is in the Level 1 Cafeteria. Allison is telling everyone there that the view of the outside is a lie, and it is green and lush with life. In front of everyone, she says she wants to go outside. Holston is shocked and Allison is arrested.

Mayor Jahns tries to find a way out of the situation, but as Holston points out the rules of the Silo boil down to one thing: "never ask to go out." Both Gloria and George are pulled in for questioning as they had associated with Allison recently but George maintains that Allison never went back to see him and Judicial does not find the hard drive. Because it will be the first Cleaning in a while, the Mayor begins preparations for the public event.

Allison and Holston talk and while she says she loves him, she cannot deny the truth she has seen. Promises that if she goes out and its a barren toxic wasteland like they have been shown, she will not clean the sensor. If it is green like she believes, then she will clean. As Allison is suited up and sentenced to exile, she leaves the Silo. Holston and the rest watch as she cleans the sensor and then begins to walk away before collapsing and dying on the hill just beyond the silo exit.

Two years later, Holston learns that George Wilkins is dead after going over a rail on level 120. Holston wants to investigate whether it's a suicide or an accident, and is told by Marnes that an engineer believes it was murder. The two make the trek down to the lower levels and meet with Deputy Hank. They are taken to see Juliette Nichols, an engineer who works to keep the generator running and the Silo alive.

Back in the present, Marnes asks Holston why he is doing this. Holston says he is finally listening to Allison. He is going to find her and know the truth.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Rashida Jones as Allison Becker
* David Oyelowo as Holston Becker
* Common as Robert Sims (credit only)
With
* Tim Robbins as Bernard Holland
And
* Rebecca Ferguson as Juliette Nichols

### Guest Starring

* Will Patton as Deputy Sam Marnes
* Geraldine James as Mayor Ruth Jahns
* Sophie Thompson as Gloria Hildebrandt
* Ferdinand Kingsley as George Wilkins
* Shane McRae as Knox
* Billy Postlethwaite as Hank
* Chipo Chung as Sandy
* Remmie Milner as Shirley Campbell
* Matt Gomez Hidaka as Cooper
* Peter Gadiot as Mechanical Engineer

### Co-Starring

* Olatunji Ayofe as Teddy
* Georgia Goodman as Karen
* Paul Bigley as Dr. Leonard
* James Palmer as Jim
* Krishan Naidoo as Porter 1
* James McGregor as Villain
* Levi Goldmeier as Hero
* Indigo Griffiths as Heroine
* Anna Siow as Cafeteria Worker

## Appearances

**By type**

Characters

* Holston Becker (First appearance)
* Brent (First mentioned)
* Shirley Campbell (First appearance)
* Jane Carmody (First mentioned)
* Charlene (First mentioned)
* Cooper (First appearance)
* Flores (First mentioned)
* Hank (First appearance)
* Gloria Hildebrandt (First appearance)
* Bernard Holland (First appearance)
* Ruth Jahns (First appearance)
* Jim (First appearance)
* Karen (First appearance)
* Knox (First appearance)
* Leonard (First appearance)
* Sam Marnes (First appearance)
* Mechanical Engineer (First appearance)
* Juliette Nichols (First appearance)
* Sam (First appearance)
* Sandy (First appearance)
* Teddy (First appearance)
* Andrew Wilkins (First mentioned)
* George Wilkins (First appearance)

Events

* The Rebellion (First mentioned)

Locations

* The Silo (First appearance)
	+ Computer Repair (First appearance)
	+ Dr. Leonard's Office (First appearance)
	+ Farms (First appearance)
	+ Hostel (First appearance)
	+ IT Offices (First appearance)
	+ Level 1 (First appearance)
		- Level 1 Cafeteria (First appearance)
		- Level 1 Sheriff Station (First appearance)
			* Airlock (First appearance)
			* Holding 3 (First appearance)
			* Sheriff's Office (First appearance)
	+ Level 2 (First appearance)
	+ Level 6 (First appearance)
		- Sheriff's Apartment
	+ Level 17 (First appearance)
		- Gloria Hildebrandt's Apartment (First appearance)
	+ Level 26 (First appearance)
	+ Level 42 (First mentioned)
	+ Level 68 (First appearance)
	+ Level 76 (First mentioned)
	+ Level 78 (First mentioned)
	+ Level 120 (First appearance)
	+ Level 144 (First mentioned)
	+ Mayor's Office (First appearance)
	+ Generator Room (First appearance)
	+ Stairwell (First appearance)

Organizations and titles

* Judicial (First appearance)
* Mechanical (First appearance)
* Porter (First appearance)
* Sheriff Department (First appearance)
* The Founders (First mentioned)

Weapons and technology

* Generator (First appearance)
* Silomail (First appearance)

Miscellanea

* Containment Suit (First appearance)
* Credits (First appearance)
* Heat tape (First appearance)
* Relic (First appearance)
	+ Hard drive (First appearance)
* Sensor Wool (First appearance)
* The Pact (First mentioned)

## Behind the scenes

* Despite being credited in the opening, Common does not appear in the episode as Robert Sims.
* When Allison Becker goes to see Gloria Hildebrandt in her apartment for the second time, she is shown going down the the Stairwell and passing Level 26. However, Gloria's apartment is said to be on Level 17, and the apartment number on her door is 1727.
* While the level of Holston and Allison's apartment is not specified, Holston runs onto the stairs at Level 6 while heading for Doctor Leonard's office. He returns to Level 6 with the doctor, indicating that the apartment is located on that level.
* During the introduction to Juliette Nichols in the Generator Room, she appears to use a form of sign language to communicate with the other engineers. This would make sense in a noisy environment near the generator.