Can You Die From The Bends? What Will Happen To Juliette In Silo

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Silo season 2’s episode 7.

Silo season 2’s episode 7 briefly mentions the bends right before Juliette dives underwater, which raises concerns surrounding whether Juliette will eventually suffer from the dangerous health condition. When Rebecca Ferguson’s Juliette first arrived in Silo 17, her sole purpose was to find a way to build herself a suit and return home. However, the closer she got to achieving that objective, the more Solo realized she could help him drain the water from his Silo.

Although Juliette initially brushes off Solo’s requests, she eventually gives in after feeling sorry for him. She dives into the depths of the water flooding Silo 17 and fixes its water drainage pump to ensure that the water from the lower levels never reaches Solo’s vault. However, towards the end of Silo season 2’s episode 7, she is forced to swim to the surface quickly, only to find that Solo has disappeared. Juliette initially seems fine when she investigates what might have happened to Solo, but it is hard not to believe the bends will soon get to her.

Severe Cases Of The Bends Can Lead To Death For Divers

Juliette Is At Serious Risk After Episode 7’s Events

Juliette is left oxygen-deprived when her makeshift breathing tube stops working. This forces her to rush to the surface in Silo season 2’s episode 7. Before Juliette dived underwater, Solo told her that she must slowly head towards the surface, or she could risk getting a fatal condition called the bends. Technically referred to as decompression sickness, bends occur when bubbles form in a person’s body due to a sudden change in pressure. When a diver ascends underwater without taking breaks, the surrounding pressure suddenly goes down, causing nitrogen in the bloodstream to form bubbles.

The formation of these nitrogen bubbles in one’s joints and other organs can cause severe pain, dizziness, heaviness in the chest, and, in severe cases, death. It is called “the bends” because the formation of bubbles in one’s joints can cause immense pain, leading one to “bend.” In Silo season 2’s episode 7, Juliette shows no symptoms of the bends and seems completely fine after she gets out of the water. However, she may still not be out of danger.

Juliette May Not Have Symptoms Of The Bends Right Away In Silo

The Bends Can Have Delayed Effects

Given how Juliette is Silo‘s main character, it would not make sense if the bends from her underwater adventure in episode 7 killed her. However, since the show mentioned the bends in passing, it seems likely she will eventually experience some symptoms of the health condition. Although she seems fine towards the final moments of season 2’s episode 7, the initial lack of symptoms does not guarantee that she is in the clear. Symptoms of the bends can take hours and sometimes even days to appear.

This could mean that Juliette could eventually face many complications, including trouble walking, dizziness, and confusion. Someone seems to attack Solo in Silo season 2 episode 7’s ending, which means Juliette is about to face another major challenge in the next episode. Once that is out of the way, she will have to rush back to Silo 18 to ensure her people do not end up making any reckless decisions in the wake of the rebellion. However, if the symptoms of the bends set in, she might end up wasting some valuable time trying to manage her health.

What Kind Of Treatment Juliette Would Need If She Had The Bends In Silo

Juliette May Not Have The Resources To Treat Herself

The health condition is typically treated through recompression using a recompression chamber. However, it seems unlikely that Juliette will have access to a recompression chamber in Silo 17. Another relatively riskier method divers use to cure the bends is called In-water recompression (IWR). In this method, the diver returns underwater to a depth where the pressure is higher than at the surface but lower than the depth where they initially dived. The high-pressure conditions created through the method dissolve the nitrogen back into one’s bloodstream.

While underwater, the diver must also inhale a high-oxygen mixture to ensure the nitrogen is dissolved efficiently. In the Apple TV+ sci-fi show, Juliette neither has the time nor the equipment to pull off In-water recompression (IWR). Therefore, if her symptoms start appearing in Silo season 2’s future episodes, she will have to rely on her ability to recover and withstand pain to survive before she can return to Silo 18 and get proper medical attention.

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.

Release Date

May 5, 2023

Cast

Rebecca Ferguson
, Common
, Tim Robbins
, Harriet Walter
, Christian Ochoa Lavernia
, Avi Nash
, Billy Postlethwaite
, Chinaza Uche
, Iain Glen
, Remmie Milner
, David Oyelowo
, Rick Gomez
, Ferdinand Kingsley
, Shane McRae
, Chipo Chung
, Caitlin Zoz
, Matt Gomez Hidaka
, Angela Yeoh
, Olatunji Ayofe
, Khairika Sinani
, Will Patton
, Akie Kotabe

Character(s)

Juliette Nichols
, Robert Sims
, Bernard Holland
, Martha Walker
, Amundsen
, Lukas Kyle
, Hank
, Paul Billings
, Dr. Pete Nichols
, Shirley
, Sheriff Holston
, Patrick Kennedy
, George Wilkins
, Knox
, Sandy
, Kathleen Billings
, Cooper
, Deputy Molly Karins
, Teddy
, Raider Jean
, Deputy Marnes
, Diego

Seasons

2

Directors

Morten Tyldum
, David Semel

Showrunner

Graham Yost

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