Warning: This article contains spoilers for Apple TV+'s Silo.
This article contains mention of suicide and murder.
George Wilkins' murder and why he was killed could have massive implications for Juliette's Silo future. Set in a dystopian underground city, Silo does not instantly dive into the darker elements of its overarching storyline. Instead, it gradually builds up to them by revealing only bits and pieces of answers to their underlying mysteries. Even when it comes to its character beats, Silo allows audiences to become armchair detectives and deduce their theories before finally disclosing how certain characters met their grim fates.
George Wilkins's story arc follows a similar structure. After showing up briefly in Silo's initial episodes, he suddenly dies, and it is suspected that he committed suicide. However, when the events leading up to George Wilkins' Silo fate suggest that he could not have killed himself, Juliette sets out to unravel the mystery behind his murder. While some aspects of Wilkins' demise remain shrouded, it is pretty evident that he was murdered by Douglas Trumbull.
Douglas Trumbull Killed George Wilkins In Silo
Silo episode 5, titled "The Janitor's Boy," primarily revolves around Robert Sims and how he hires Douglas Trumbull to do his dirty work. Sims gives Doug the opportunity to prove whether he is worthy of becoming his shadow in the Silo. Therefore, Doug sets out to execute some high-risk assassinations to prove himself to Sims. As seen in Silo episode 4, Douglas Trumbull was responsible for murdering Deputy Marnes and probably even Mayor Ruth. The end of Silo episode 5 confirms that he also killed George Wilkins after Sims ordered him to do it and frame it as a suicide.
How & Why Was George Wilkins Killed?
The reports surrounding Wilkins' death investigations suggested he fell off the Silo's stairs. Considering how Doug tried killing Juliette by pushing her off the Silo's stairs in episode 5, he likely did the same with George Wilkins and succeeded. Doug's reason for killing George Wilkins was simple: to prove that he could be Sims' shadow. Robert Sims, on the other hand, had far deeper reasons for hiring Doug to kill George Wilkins.
Wilkins landed himself in deep trouble when he laid his hands on the forbidden hard drive and tried to unlock it with Allison's help in Silo's initial episodes. Instead of keeping their discoveries from the hard drive a secret, Allison grew erratic and stepped out of the Silo, believing that everything they were told about the outside world was a lie. Allison's actions must have prompted Sims to backtrack her steps and figure out what she did before she found the Silo's secrets. His investigation must have led him to Wilkins' place since that is where Allison cracked the hard drive and learned about the truth behind the Silo's mysteries.
Realizing that George Wilkins' could expose the secrets from the hard drive to other Silo citizens and trigger a massive rebellion, Robert Sims started seeing him as a major threat to their underground city's security. Therefore, as the head of security for the Judicial, he acted quickly and asked Doug to kill Wilkins before the programmer could tell others about his newfound discoveries. To maintain order and ensure that the citizens do not grow wary about George Wilkins's death, he told Doug to frame it as a suicide.
Why George Wilkins Had To Die Early In Silo & What It Really Means
In many ways, George Wilkins' death sets off Juliette's hunt for the truth in Silo. If it wasn't for Wilkins' early death, Juliette would have never met Sheriff Holston. Consequently, Sheriff would not have followed his wife's footsteps and nominated Juliette as the next Sheriff. George Wilkins' sudden demise was also the primary reason why Juliette accepted the Sheriff's post. Although she questions her decision towards the ending of Silo episode 6 after learning about Wilkins' past relationships, her crime-solving endeavors as the new Sheriff were initially driven by her desperation to find Wilkins' killer.
In the original Silo books, George Wilkins gets murdered by the Judicial because he dreams about expanding the Silo by digging laterally into its mine. Unlike the series, Wilkins' death in the books is not directly associated with the Silo's dark secrets and the Judicial's efforts to shroud them. By directly linking George Wilkins' death with the Judicial's malicious behind-the-scenes activities to oppress the citizens, Apple TV+'s Silo raises the stakes for Juliette and gives her a stronger catalyst to stand her ground and fight against the underground bunker's authoritative figures.
New episodes of Silo release Fridays on Apple TV+.