Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Silo season 2, episode 4, “The Harmonium.“Another shocking death has occurred in Apple TV+‘sSiloas Judge Mary Meadows (Tanya Moodie) meets her end at the hands of Mayor Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins). Despite being the official leader of the Judicial Department,Siloseason 1reveals that Judge Meadows is not the foremost authority in Silo 18. After Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) learns this, Judge Meadows is absent from the rest of season 1, as Juliette contends with Bernard and the secrets he is hiding.
AfterSiloseason 1’s ending,season 2 has seen Judge Meadows having a more active presence in the series. She agrees to help Bernard regain control of Silo 18 and to show a united front in return for being given a suit that will allow her to safely enterSilo’s outside world. Despite the quid pro quo nature of their agreement, season 2 has also shown a deeper connection and past between the two characters, with Bernard even confiding her in Judge Meadows in a way that he will not do with Robert Sims (Common). Nevertheless, Bernard makes the choice to murder her.
Judge Meadows’ Obsession With Going Outside Was Dangerous For Bernard In Silo
She Was Too Much Of A Liability
Even though Bernard loved Judge Meadows, he has always cared most about what he believes to be best for Silo 18. Judge Meadows' fixation on leaving forever and going outside was becoming a liability for Bernard. There are already manySilocharacterswho believe it is safe to go outside after seeing Juliette disappear over the hill. If Judge Meadows willingly went outside, it would be difficult to keep this a secret, and even more challenging to stop more Silo 18 citizens from following her example and going outside as well, which could put everyone at risk.
Silo: Why Judge Meadows Told Lukas Kyle About Stars & The Universe, And Barely Amended His Sentencing To The Mines
Judge Meadows' meeting with Lukas Kyle took an unexpected turn in Silo season 2, episode 1, “The Harmonium,” but there was a good reason why.
From a political standpoint,Bernard claims that Judge Meadows' death will unite the people of Silo 18 again. Sims has already turned many of the citizens against her by planting the seeds for her to be impeached after she agreed to meet with individuals from the Mechanical level. AfterSiloseason 2, episode 4’s ending, these same individuals have been framed for Judge Meadows' death. The Order advises that a rebellion can be quelled by blaming all problems on Mechanical, which is what Bernard is able to do through Judge Meadows' demise.
How Bernard Killed Judge Meadows In Silo Season 2
He Poisons Her Food
After setting the record straight on several matters, Bernard invites Judge Meadows to have dinner at his apartment before she has her meeting with the individuals ascending from the Mechanical level. The dinner, according to Bernard, will involve talking about next steps regarding Judge Meadows' impending exit from Silo 18. This includes trying on the suit that she will wear when she goes outside, which Bernard lies about and says is ready and at his apartment.
Judge Meadows compared the suit to being the equivalent of the hot air balloon inThe Wizard of Oz.
While preparing the food for their dinner together,Bernard puts poison in the mushroom that he later serves Judge Meadows. He tells her that he did not poison the wine because he was not confident that she would drink it. A horrified Judge Meadows pushes her plate away, but it is already too late, with the poison already flowing through her system. While Judge Meadows' demise quickly becomes common knowledge, he is one of the few who knows how she actually died.
Judge Meadows' Complicated Relationship With The Mayor Explained
Their Personal And Professional Relationships Were Tragically Intertwined
25 years earlier,Judge Meadows and Bernardworked closely together. They had tremendous respect for each other, to the extent that Bernard was even going to make her his shadow. She ultimately turned down Bernard’s offer because she said she did not want to be tethered to him for the rest of her life. However, in the moments before her death, she reveals to Bernard that this is not the real reason she turned down his proposal and that she happily would have spent the rest of her life by his side.
Bernard’s obsession with maintaining order in Silo 18 led him to turn the love of his life into a pawn who he ultimately murdered in the belief that her death would serve the greater good.
Judge Meadows shares that the real reason she did not become Bernard’s shadow is that she knewhe would always be more committed to the Pact and to the Order than he would be to her. Bernard and Judge Meadows loved each other in their own way and if Bernard had realigned his priorities, they could have built a life together. Instead, Bernard’s obsession with maintaining order in Silo 18 led him to turn the love of his life into a pawn who he ultimately murdered in the belief that her death would serve the greater good.
Why Bernard Gave Meadows' A Virtual Reality Headset While She Was Dying
It Is His Last Gift To Her
Before Judge Meadows dies, Bernard has her put on a virtual reality headset. The headset visually transports Judge Meadows to Costa Rica’s Monteverde Cloud Forest in 2018. In addition to immersing her in the natural beauty of the forest itself, the virtual reality shows Judge Meadows living creatures she has never seen before, including a capuchin monkey and a red-eyed tree frog. Bernard knows this virtual reality experience so well that he does not need to wear the headset in order to tell Judge Meadows exactly what she is seeing and to turn her in the optimal direction so that she gets the best view possible.
Apple’s Silo Season 2’s VR Scene Is Brilliant
Apple features an intriguing VR device in Silo season 2’s episode 4, which somehow feels both fitting and brilliant at the same time.
Judge Meadows is killed for pragmatic reasons, butBernard gives her the headset so she can have a more peaceful and dignified death. Judge Meadows desperately wanted to go outside, and her last request was to go to one of the cafeterias so she could see the display of the outside world one last time. Since Bernard cannot honor these requests, the best he can do is to show her what the outside once looked like. Bernard is a generally cold man, but sharing this illegal secret of the virtual reality headset with Judge Meadows is an emotionally intimate moment for him.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TBA
August 16, 2025
Just like his relationship with Judge Meadows, the virtual reality offers a glimpse at something that is now forever lost. As if Judge Meadows' death is not difficult enough, her final words add a layer of tragedy as she asks,“What did they do, Bernard? How did they lose this world?“The fateful choices that led to this have yet to be revealed and are amongSilo’s most prominent overarching mysteries. Regardless of the answers, Bernard has made his own fateful choice with Judge Meadows that will undoubtedly haunt him in all futureSiloepisodes.
Silo
Cast
In a dystopian future, men and women reside in a vast underground silo governed by strict regulations, believed to shield them from the hazardous world above. The series delves into the complex social order within the silo and the mysteries surrounding their subterranean existence.
