'Silo' Season 2, episode 2: What happened between Bernard and Judge Meadows?

Another episode into Season 2 of Silo, and the mysteries are stacking up.

We found out last season that Head of Judicial Judge Meadows (Tanya Moodie) isn't really the powerful figure people believe her to be. Season 2, episode 2 gives us even more of an insight into her character — and, in particular, her relationship with the person actually in charge of the titular Silo, Bernard (Tim Robbins).

But what exactly is going on between the two of them, and what secret is Meadows hiding? We've had a go at breaking it down.

What happens between Bernard and Judge Meadows in episode 2?

In episode 2, a desperate Bernard visits Meadows in her apartment to ask for help. He wants her to join him while he addresses the people of the Silo as a show of support, but Meadows refuses. Later, though, when Bernard takes to the podium, Meadows is there waiting — and she steps in to speak up for him after he lies to the Silo about inventing a new kind of protective tape.

Back in Meadows' apartment after the speech, she reveals to Bernard that she's stopped drinking. Then she tells him what she wants in return for her help.

"For the first time in 25 years, I don't want to be drunk. I want to be as clearheaded as I can about this, and you, going forward. I'll help you, Bernard," Meadows says. "Get me some of the good tape and put it aside until the crisis is over. I want my freedom."

For some reason, Meadows wants to follow Juliette Nichols (Rebeccas Ferguson) and leave the Silo's confines. But why?

Bernard seems confused by Judge Meadows Credit: Apple TV+

Why did Judge Meadows stop being Bernard's shadow?

Clearly, Judge Meadows wasn't always this troubled. At one point back in time, we learn, she was in fact Bernard's shadow.

"Nobody knows me better than you," says Bernard early in the episode, making it clear that the two of them share a bond he doesn't share with anyone else in the Silo. What's just as obvious, though, is that this bond has become fractured — and whatever went wrong can be traced back to an event 25 years in the past.

We don't yet know what this event was. All we know is that 1) It caused Meadows to start drinking, and 2) Not even Bernard knows what happened.

"I'll never fucking understand you," he says. "What was it, Mary? 25 years of this secret. What are you holding onto? What aren't you telling me? You're hiding something."

Our only other clue is Meadows' request to go outside. Whatever secret she's holding on to, maybe it's something to do with the mystery of what's going on beyond the Silo's metal walls.

How to watch: Silo is streaming now on Apple TV+ with new episodes releasing weekly.