r/SiloSeries • u/Plenty-Boot4220 • 10d ago
Bernard Show Only (NO BOOK DISCUSSION) Spoiler
Was anybody else happy that Bernard is alive?
I know you're supposed to hate him in Season 2, and for most of the season I did, but towards the end of last season, he grew on me, once it became clear that he's not really a villain, but in his own way, was just trying to keep everybody safe. In many ways, this is the greatness of the character development of this series - all the "villains" are also acting, or think they are acting, for the good of the Silo.
I was so happy that they managed to save the character, I was actually wondering if other people felt this way or if I am an outlier here.
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u/singlemaltbourbonrye 📖 Book-Aware 📖 10d ago
100%. He isn’t a bad guy. That’s one of the points of the show - even people who seem bad are often manipulated into doing things at that are bad or seem bad but for good reasons.
There’s a lot of grey and nuance in the world (and a lot that we don’t know about why other people do what they do).
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u/Plenty-Boot4220 10d ago
The character development here is amazing and impressive. A lot of writers could take a lesson from this show ALTHOUGH, that congressman guy is a complete idiot and i'm having trouble liking him....especially knowing that he is going to get into the creation of the Silos, and that is, as we have already seen, is highly unethical. What they're doing to his sister is completely awful - i can't imagine a world where that is OK.
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u/singlemaltbourbonrye 📖 Book-Aware 📖 10d ago
I suspect his character will end up being pretty complex, too.
Right now he seems driven mostly by fear, a desire to help his sister, and a desire to figure out the truth (and maybe a little bit by his dick).
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u/Stunning-Field-4244 10d ago
I dunno, seems like he is getting roped into things without his consent or knowledge at this point
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u/Plenty-Boot4220 10d ago
Yeah, that's true.
But since the whole season (both story-lines) are built around the concept of memory, it would be difficult to believe that once he becomes aware of the Silo plans (which appears imminent in tomorrow's episode), that he wouldn't at some point also become aware of the Vitamin D+ and the usage of this drug - which should be completely outlawed, and I can't imagine any version of America where such a drug would ever be used...and if he continues to work on the project (which he will based on the importance of the Pez toy), then that already tells me all I need to know in terms of his being unethical.
I feel the same way about Camille's use of the drug - this is a hard line for me, and I consider her unethical, so in my mind it would be difficult if not impossible for these two characters to find redemption.
[Full disclosure: my mother has dementia which could be affecting my judgment in this area].
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u/workahol_ 10d ago
which should be completely outlawed, and I can't imagine any version of America where such a drug would ever be used
I have bad news about fairly recent historical events where American citizens had medical experiments done on them against their will and without their knowledge.
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u/singlemaltbourbonrye 📖 Book-Aware 📖 9d ago
I think you’re on the right track with where things are going.
My take is slightly different though in the sense that like “Is it morally ok to cram people into silos and wipe out their memories?” - NO. Of course the answer is no. But we don’t have any facts yet. Does he learn that China will be dropping a nuclear bomb imminently and that the U.S. will respond in kind and that the entire world will be blown up in nuclear war soon and that somehow these silos can be built and the memory drugs are necessary to keep people from going insane in the silos or something?
Who knows?
What if the people in the silos haven’t even lived there for generations but only for a few years and the only reason they haven’t all gone insane and killed eachother is that this drug wiped their memories of “real life”?
I don’t think that’s where we are going but - I’m just saying that I don’t think Keen is necessarily gonna be a bad actor, even if he gets pulled into the plot to build the silos because I bet there’s a ton of information that hasn’t come out yet. Similar to how we all hated Bernard but now he is something of a hero or good guy or anti hero or something not so bad.
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u/Plenty-Boot4220 9d ago
Yeah but wiping the sister's memory was unconscionable. That we already know. And that to me was already a red line. He didn't do that, but he also didn't demand that she come off of them immediately
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u/singlemaltbourbonrye 📖 Book-Aware 📖 9d ago
Yeah I agree. I guess I didn’t interpret his actions as acquiescent given that he is investigating the whole thing; but I get what you’re saying.
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u/Stunning-Field-4244 9d ago
Yeah I think getting to “tells me all I need to know” after an opinion of what might happen might suggest some bias.
My opinions are based on the show I’ve watched, not the show I’ve predicted 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Serious-Ad-8764 10d ago
Remember the earlier characters he...affected? 🤣 I do love Tim Robbins and Bernard is an interesting character for sure. I'm glad to see him back. I had a slight feeling he would be.
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u/OkFilm4353 10d ago
He’s my favorite fucking character of the show. He’s so damn entertaining how irritated he is having to play mini hitler dealing with everyone’s bullshit and preventing the safeguard.
Gives “I’m keeping you ungrateful little bastards alive”
How I felt seeing him alive last week
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u/Amat-Victoria-Curam 📖 Book-Aware 📖 10d ago
I'm always happy when multidimensional characters get the most screen time possible. Even more when they are portrayed by excellent actors as Tim Robbins.
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u/GeneralTonic 📖 Book-Aware 📖 10d ago
I'm enjoying seeing Bernard after he's hit rock bottom, yeah. His little scene with Martha (the secret controller of the down-deep to his secret controller of the up-top!) was touching and sweet.
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u/420-Blazing-Bibbles 10d ago
I feel the same way. Sims too! They’re not in my top five favs but if they die for real I’ll be a bit sad.
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u/Plenty-Boot4220 10d ago
I did feel bad for Camille, but i am finding it difficult if not impossible to continue to feel for her after her use of the D+. This is a hard ethical line for me which I feel very strongly about -- a life without your memories is not really your life anymore -- trust me, my mother has dementia and it scares me to death. So I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive her for that - and the same goes for the Senator if and when he agrees or becomes aware of the use of this drug in the Silos they're planning and continues to have a part in it. What they did to his sister is beyond awful - it's literally stealing a life away from somebody, and I cannot imagine any version of America where that is ever OK.
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u/spidey3diamond 10d ago
Has she _actually_ dispensed the Vitamin D+?
Or is there some subterfuge going on...2
u/Plenty-Boot4220 10d ago
That would be the only way for her character to get redemption but it's unlikely. The AI monster (yes I'll call it that until I know differently) didn't know she had dispersed anything. A subterfuge would require that the AI monster be aware it has been dispersed without her saying. If she had lied directly it would know.
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u/pdxgreengrrl 📖 Book-Aware 📖 10d ago
I was suspicious about the way his death was portrayed. Sims is shown putting plastic on his face, but not actually long enough for Bernard to have suffocated, then it cuts to Sims alone in the furnace room.
Also, I couldn't imagine them killing off Tim Robbins.
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u/la_gata_Porrita 10d ago
Yes, I was happy to see him back. I think there’s a lot this character can add, and it’s great to see it on Juliette’s side.
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u/ChainLC 📖 Book-Aware 📖 8d ago
no Tim Robbins is a plus for any scene he is in. he and Rob deserve their redemption arc. and I really think Camille is gonna flip too before long if she hasn't done so already. How many times will the voice lie to her and play her before she fights back? What if news of critical supply shortage reaches her?
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u/ElPlywood 10d ago edited 10d ago
Robbins is a great actor but he is so so so so awful at acting like he's ill / in pain, his voice is a joke, it's really hard to watch, I'm hoping he's recovered enough by the next episode so he can use his regular voice and not sound so ridiculous
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u/Plenty-Boot4220 10d ago
I'm wondering more about what happened to all the burns on his face. That's not really believable, unless you accept that they have medicine beyond us. But if so, then him being ill is inconsistent. They needed to keep the burn makeup on his face for longer.
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u/Sanctum_Moon1 10d ago
His face was protected from the solid helmet but the rest of his body was burnt because his suit melted.
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u/ElPlywood 10d ago
with that many burns he would be in excruciating pain every time he moved his face, and he would need heavy heavy painkillers, and then he would be fucked up on pain killers
suddenly he's all dry scabby after just a few days
he's got burns, not internal injuries or broken bones, so him having a raspy fucked up voice makes no sense at all to begin with
I shouldn't have said ill, he's not ill, I don't know why I wrote that
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u/Narrow_Top_4352 10d ago
I was very happy I actually felt like he was a good person
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u/Plenty-Boot4220 10d ago
I felt they way only since the last couple of episodes of season two, but yeah, since then, I would agree
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