Juliette had lost her mother at a very young age, and after that tragedy, she decided to move to the Mechanical division in Silo. She was 13 years old when she met Martha Walker for the first time, and over the years, they became each other’s family. Juliette was not talking to her father, Pete Nichols, at that time, as she blamed him for not being there for her when she needed him the most and also for being responsible for the death of her mother. Hanna and Juliette both believed that it was Pete who had informed the Judicial that they had a magnifying glass in their possession, though years later it was clarified that it was just one big misunderstanding, and it was the CCTV camera through which the Judicial had gotten to know about it. Martha saw unbearable pain in those innocent eyes, and she knew that the poor girl was suffering.
Juliette wanted to drown herself in work so that she didn’t get time to think about anything else in life. Martha understood what loss meant; she knew how it felt to be in that state of helplessness, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Martha and Juliette shared a love for machines, and there was nothing in the Silo that they couldn’t repair. Martha took Juliette under her wings and taught her everything she knew about machines, but more than that, she taught her how to deal with her emotions. For a young Juliette, it was necessary to let go of the baggage that she was carrying on her shoulders. Martha knew that if she didn’t do that, then she would have a hard time coping with life in the future.
Spoilers Alert
Why Was Martha Scared For Juliette?
Martha also had that curiosity bug in her, and she used to help Juliette examine the relics, understand how they functioned, and in turn, find out more about their past. Martha was happy for Juliette when she was offered the position of the sheriff, but she hadn’t imagined at that time that it would put her life in danger. Martha was aware that Juliette did a lot of things that were in violation of the rules mentioned in the pact, but the threat was never so imminent. For the first time, it had come to her attention that people were literally dying, and there was somebody who was behind all this who, in the future, could get to Juliette as well. And additionally, the people who had been mysteriously murdered were not commoners, and Martha feared that if they could get the mayor and deputy chief of police killed, then nobody was safe. At this juncture, Martha wasn’t aware that Bernard was behind all this, and that is why she didn’t know who they should trust.
Seeing Juliette’s willingness to go to any extent to find the truth made Martha really scared for her girl at times. She often told Juliette that she understood that finding the reason behind Wilkins’ death might be the most important thing for her, but she needed to make sure that she wasn’t falling into a trap from which she couldn’t escape. Martha didn’t like how, at times, Juliette recklessly risked her life, and she started feeling that it would have been better if she didn’t leave mechanical. Martha also suffered from agoraphobia, as we learned that for years, she hadn’t left that small room, which she had also converted into her workshop.
Martha was devastated after she heard that Bernard and Robert Sims had plotted against Juliette and declared that she had asked to go outside. Martha always saw Juliette as her own daughter, and she just couldn’t see her walking towards her doom. Martha wanted to do something, but she didn’t know what she could do while sitting in her small room. At the end of Silo episode 10, Juliette was rescued after she fell from the trash chute and brought to Martha’s room. For the first time, probably, Bernard and Sims came into her room, and she realized that they wouldn’t stop unless and until they killed her girl. Martha realized that it was about time she fought her own demons, faced her fears, and did something to save Juliette. Martha knew that she would not be able to forgive herself if anything happened to her girl, but she had yet to formulate a strategy to beat Bernard and Sims at their own game.
What Did Martha Walker Do With The Heat Tapes?
Martha remembered a conversation she had had with Juliette some time ago. Juliette had stolen the heat tapes, which, apart from being used in machines and devices, were used in the suit that a person wore when they went outside for cleaning. No one who had gone outside had ever come back alive, and that made Martha believe that either the environment outside was actually so hazardous that no protective gear could save a person or maybe the suit was critically flawed. Martha knew a woman in the supply division named Carla, and she decided that she would have to ask her for a favor. But before that, she needed to step out of her room. We came to know the kind of love she had for Juliette and how she was ready to go to any extent to save her when she actually made the impossible happen. People were shocked to see Martha walking outside her room, and she just held her nerve and managed to reach Carla’s house. Based on her suspicions, Martha asked Carla to use the heat tapes that the mechanical division had and not the ones that IT usually used.
Martha still didn’t know whether Juliette would survive or not, but she hoped that the heat tapes would make a difference. Martha held her breath when Juliette stepped outside, just hoping that she survived. Martha’s suspicions actually came out to be true, as the inferior-quality heat tapes were the reason why the suit didn’t protect the person. Juliette survived, and Martha took a sigh of relief, though she knew that the work wasn’t even half done. In season 2 of Silo, Martha would have a bigger task on her hands, as she would have to try to establish contact with Juliette and make sure that she got all the help that she needed. If Juliette has to return to Silo 18, we believe Martha would have a huge role to play. Martha knew machines better than Bernard or Sims, and though it had never crossed her mind that there were others out there and she could communicate with them, she would have to inevitably achieve that feat.
