In Season 1, Episode 4 of “Silo” we learn that most of the jobs silo inhabitants have were passed down, after Martha Walker (Harriet Walter) tells Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) that the people who work in mechanical got their jobs from family. Walker even questions Juliette as to why she doesn’t want to shadow her own father, Dr. Pete Nichols (Iain Glen). But Juliette’s declaration that she was also born into it suggests that her mother, Hanna (Sienna Guillory), originally came from the lower levels of the silo, the same place Juliette decides to make her home.
We don’t know how far back into his family Sims’ work goes, but we now know from Episode 5 that he shadowed his father, whose work gave him the authority to reassign an entire family to a different level to protect his son from bullying. Sims’ father obviously wasn’t really a janitor and seems to be more tied to judicial, where Sims now works. We don’t know what exactly is behind the door marked “Janitor,” but Sims’ admission to Trumbull makes it clear that it isn’t brooms and mops. Sims’ conversation with Trumbull also informs us that he ordered him to murder both Deputy Marnes (Will Patton) and George Wilkins (Ferdinand Kingsley) and to frame Patrick Kennedy (Rick Gomez) for the deaths of both Marnes and Mayor Jahnes (Geraldine James).
We’re only halfway through the first season, and new mysteries and puzzles are revealed every episode. However, after Episode 5, the biggest question remaining is what is behind the Janitor door, and how great is Sims’ authority in the silo.