Holston's Pick

### **IMDb**

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

## Synopsis

*Juliette, an engineer, pieces together what might have led to a co-worker's mysterious death.*

## Plot

Holston Becker is suited up to leave the Silo as Mayor Ruth Jahns goes through the traditional ceremony of sending someone out for a Cleaning. Holston apologises for causing a fuss as he goes through the airlock and into the outside world. As he emerges, Holston begins to see the outside world. Throughout the Silo, people gather to watch the Cleaning in their various Cafeterias throughout the facility, including Juliette. The population cannot believe that a Sheriff is being sent out to clean. As Holston stands outside, he sees the world as green and lush with birds flying in the sky. Realizing that the rest of the Silo has to see it, Holston cleans the sensor. As the population watches, Holston starts towards his wife's body and then begins to succumb to the toxic environment. Holston removes his helmet, crawls to Allison's body, and dies.

In the Cafeteria in the Deep Down, Juliette storms out, calling the Sheriff a liar. Tempers begin flaring at a Sheriff being sent out, and fights break out. Deputy Hank and Knox stop the commotion, and Knox rallies them saying these problems are for Up Top and the Mids, not for those in the Deep Down whose job it is to keep the lights on.

At the Sheriff Department, Deputy Sam Marnes finds Holston's letter left before his exile. Sandy tells him about reports of people lining up at recycling stations all over the Silo requesting hammers and pipes, anything that can be used in defense. Marnes goes to see Jahns, asking who will be the next Sheriff. Initially, Jahns believes that it would be Marnes, but he refuses, saying he plans to retire after helping to break the new Sheriff in. If Holston had retired, he would have picked his own successor. Jahns has been combing through the records of the Silo, looking for any previous mention of a Mayor sending out a Sheriff to clean. Marnes realises that Jahns is worried that the cause of the previous Rebellion could have been the actions of a Mayor sending a Sheriff out to Clean.

At a recycling station, arguments over a sledgehammer threaten to turn violent. Deputy Brooks tries to maintain order, but it is calmed down by the arrival of Robert Sims of Judicial who takes the names of the two men fighting.

Juliette goes to relieve stress by fixing things in Martha Walker's electronics workshop. Although reluctant, Martha convinces Juliette to talk about what is bothering her. Juliette begins to talk about George Wilkins and how she believes his death was murder.

The day before George's death, Juliette and the rest of her team were in the Cafeteria celebrating Cooper becoming Juliette's shadow. Juliette and George are in a relationship, but it is not sanctioned so he keeps his distance at formal events so that Judicial does not become suspicious. George wants to tell Juliette something and plans to tell her later at her place but once Juliette gets off shift, George is nowhere to be found. He left a package in her quarters with a note and a relic. At breakfast the next morning, Juliette learns that "Computer George" is dead after going over the rail around Level 120. In private, Juliette is distraught and breaks down.

Believing it not to be suicide, Juliette tries to convince Deputy Hank of the fact. Hank wants it not to be suicide as that is a crime agains the Silo and would save him a ton of paperwork. Hank runs it up to the Sheriff as the concerns of a co-worker, prompting Holston and Marnes to travel to the Deep Down to investigate. Hank shows them the vent shaft where George was found, estimating he had fallen one hundred feet. Juliette points out George did not fit the obvious signs of depression, and no one else was on the stairs at three in the morning. While Marnes checks on Porter activity on the stairs, Holston and Juliette view George's body looking for any unusual markings or signs of harm.

Holston and Juliette talk, and he reveals he knows she and George were in a relationship. He wants to help, but Juliette needs to tell him the truth. She reveals the relic and half of the message that George left her, on the condition that she would not be ratted out to Judicial. The message says "Remember where you last saw this?" Juliette takes Holston to the deepest depths of the Silo, and into tunnels that are more illegal than any Relic. Hidden away is a machine that Juliette believes is the last remnant of the technology that the Founders used to build the Silo. Down here, George has created a camp where he investigates the Silo and finds Relics. Investigating the camp, Holston and Juliette find the hard drive and instructions on deleting files covered in Allison's handwriting. He asks Juliette to trust him, and he will send a signal while he investigates.

Juliette tells Martha that she never heard from Holston again, and now he's gone. But she admits she didn't show him everything; the other half of the note that says "I found what I was looking for."

Jahns and Marnes talk over the Judge's suggestions for Sheriff, the main one being a former Deputy, Paul Billings. Marnes admits that Holston did leave a candidate for his successor, but Marnes believes it was just a symptom of how he was not thinking right at the end. Holston suggested Juliette as the Sheriff. Jahns resolves to at least meet her, and plans to travel down all 144 levels to meet her.

At George's camp, Juliette finds a large amount of rope and descends deep into the cave, looking for a door at the end of an old tunnel that George told her he found on a set of schematics. Juliette descends down the rope, losing her light into the water below.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Rebecca Ferguson as Juliette Nichols
* David Oyelowo as Holston Becker
* Common as Robert Sims
* Harriet Walter as Martha Walker
And
* Tim Robbins as Bernard Holland (credit only)

### Guest Starring

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

### Co-Starring

* Olatunji Ayofe as Teddy
* Ayaaz Tariq as Deputy Brooks
* Kumbi Mushambi as Larry
* Michael-Alan Read as Toby

## Appearances

**By type**

Characters

* Holston Becker
* Paul Billings (First mentioned)
* Brooks
* Shirley Campbell
* Cooper
* Hank
* Ruth Jahns
* Jamal (First mentioned)
* Jensen (First mentioned)
* Molly Karins (First mentioned)
* Knox
* Larry (First appearance)
* Sam Marnes
* Meadows (Indirect mention only)
* Mechanical Engineer
* Juliette Nichols
* Sandy
* Robert Sims (First appearance)
* Teddy
* Toby (First appearance)
* Martha Walker (First appearance)
* George Wilkins

Events

Locations

	+ Sensor (First appearance)
* The Silo
	+ Cavern (First appearance)
		- George Wilkins' camp
	+ Dispatch (First mentioned)
	+ Down Deep Sheriff Station (First appearance)
	+ Electronics Workshop (First appearance)
	+ Generator Room
	+ Level 1
		- Level 1 Cafeteria
		- Level 1 Sheriff Station
			* Airlock
			* Holding 3
			* Sheriff's Office
	+ Level 4
	+ Level 140
		- Juliette Nichols' Apartment (First appearance)
	+ Mayor's Office
	+ Mechanical Cafeteria (First appearance)
	+ Morgue
	+ Mines (First mentioned)
	+ Stairwell

Organizations and titles

* Mechanical
* Porter
* Recycling (First appearance)
* Sheriff Department
* The Founders

Weapons and technology

* Generator

Miscellanea

* Credits
* Relic
	+ Hard drive
	+ PEZ dispenser (First appearance)
	+ Video recorder (First appearance)
	+ Watch
* Shadow (First appearance)
* The Pact (Mentioned only)

## Behind the scenes

* Despite being credited in the opening, Tim Robbins does not appear in the episode as Bernard Holland.
* The levels in the Down Deep are shown to be much rougher and less well-maintained than those in the Up Top. There are cracks over the walls and exposed sections of rebar in the support struts.
* Juliette Nichols lives on Level 140 according to her door number which starts "140".
* Among the Relics in George's camp are a small model of the Statue of Liberty and what appears to be a badminton shuttlecock.
* The level the Mayor's Office is on is not explicitly stated, but it is implied to be on Level 1 when Sam Marnes says "144 levels?" in response to Ruth Jahns deciding to go see Juliette Nichols. Additionally, when Marnes is heading up to the office, he is on the stairwell and goes up past Level 4. Therefore, the Mayor's Office is likely on Levels 1, 2, or 3 at least.