Neil that wasn't Bernards choosing.... Wait until the next seasons and you'll find out. But that's why he was so shook at the end. He's been following orders of his own

The pez dispenser is a banned relic because the founders do not want any knowledge of the "before times" I don't know if it will have some flamekeeper relevance too - but that's not the primary reason it's banned.

All the relics are banned into he silo for this reason. You see some dotted about in senior living quarters under glass lids... But mainly in the library behind the server room.

It's going to tie up very nicely if George Wilkins is Helen's descendant!

I think the tunnel leads to the "thing" at the end of book 3 (that they have to use the digger for) I assume that revelation will be announced in the end episode and then season 3 will dive into Shift some - although Hugh Howey confirmed they've had to cut a LOT of Shift for the show :( (it's the best book!)

What a long winded way to say you have no clue. Yes I agree season 2 is slow so far. It's no where near as good, but you can't hinge that on the fact you now "know" about the surface.

Believe me... There's a LOT more to come and knowing about the surface is part of the entire plot.