With four episodes left, The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 21 should have had far more movement in the plot.

Introducing a functioning train line should have landed with more of a thud because it's something none of the survivors thought they'd ever see again.

However, the pace was all over the place on "Outpost 22," an hour that felt like a bit of a waste of time in the grand scheme of things.

We needed to check in with characters because many of them have been missing for most of the final season.

Maggie having to kill the young walker and her subsequent speech about taking everything back from Pamela felt like two callouts to the incomparable fearless leader, Rick Grimes.

The pain on Maggie's face as she realized she had to kill the undead child was harrowing because she didn't want to do it, not while she was unaware of whether her son was alive.

The mental and emotional toll this mission for survival put on Maggie has given her a ruthless edge that the Commonwealth will regret starting when this war gets underway.

One thing that irks me to no end is the believability factor of the train storyline and how Pamela hasn't had all of our favorite characters killed.

You need to think about this strategically because letting people she knows have beat the odds throughout the past 11 seasons live runs a high risk that they'll break free and fight back.

I envision Maggie, Carol, and Daryl leading separate teams into this battle because they each have a proven ability to make decisions that keep their people safe.

Connie being designated as someone they'll never see again wasn't surprising, either. Deep down, Pamela knew Connie was responsible for the article that catalyzed the downfall of the Miltons.

But it's hard to believe Pamela wanted to send her somewhere in the middle of nowhere to kill her. You would think there would be a more definite end for these survivors in Pamela's mind.

It's hard to understand how this will play out, but there are a grand total of zero stakes in the narratives because we know most characters will survive to appear in the more expansive TWD universe.

While the show needs stakes, I'm happy the group managed to catch up with Connie because she's been such a badass, and some off-screen death wouldn't sit right with the fanbase.

Connie's death would be shocking and would affect everyone, but there are still so many sides of Connie we haven't seen that make it sad the series only has three episodes left.

Ezekiel and Negan making a short-term deal to work together was a nice way of reiterating that Negan's actions as the leader of the Saviors still have ripple effects all these years later.

There was a very obvious fight for survival as the people worked on the train, and the Commonwealth soldiers were ruthless.

Killing three people we've never met before for running away didn't resonate with me because I'm not invested in random characters. I'm invested in the arcs I've followed since the survivors first appeared on-screen.

A lot was going on throughout "Outpost 22," but none of it was essential without stakes.

I liked checking back in with Rosita because the series seems to like not giving Christian Serratos little to do.

Rosita hasn't had much of a plot for years, and it's down to the writers treating her as a recurring player instead of a full-fledged regular.

Another issue for me is that we learned on the Inside the Episode on AMC+ that Rosita and Gabriel have broken up.

There were signs that they had parted ways on the show, but it's just horrible writing not to tell the audience ON the show we've been invested in.

Hopefully, Rosita's injury to her shoulder doesn't hinder her ability down the line in this inevitable battle for survival.

Rosita is intelligent and resourceful, and calling the Outpost posing as a Commonwealth soldier was sheer genius, but the revelation about Alexandria is a bitter pill to swallow.

Taking everyone back to where they called home -- as prisoners -- is pretty sick, but it's par for the course with a ruthless leader like Pamela.

I hope that the Alexandrians regain control of their home by the end of The Walking Dead Season 11 Episode 22, allowing them to shore up allies and fight back in the final two episodes of the series.

It's hard to believe that we have three episodes left because it's becoming increasingly evident by the episode that the series isn't going to be able to wrap every character arc by the time the final scene comes around.

I know that having so many characters must be tricky, but it's hard to be excited about the ending when there are still so many loose ends.

Hopefully, the series gets a jolt in the right direction, and I also want to find out what becomes of Annie.

She may have been a late-in-the-game character, but she's a survivor who is carrying a child.

Okay, The Walking Dead Fanatics. That's all I got.

What are your thoughts on the trajectory of these final episodes?

Do you think "Outpost 22" was a waste of time in some aspects?

Which characters do you want to check back in with?

Hit the comments below.

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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.