‘The Walking Dead’ Season 11, Episode 21 Review: ‘Outpost 22’

I’m a bit late to this assessment. I gained’t bore you with excuses. Generally I fall behind (in additional methods than one) and fairly frankly, AMC has not given us a lot to sit up for within the eleventh and remaining season of The Strolling Lifeless.

The Commonwealth storyline has been a shambles. Boring and goofy abruptly. One of many solely highlights of the season was Lance Hornsby, who was killed off within the earlier episode. We’re left with Pamela, who I don’t discover attention-grabbing or believable within the slightest.

Happily, the tempo is lastly selecting up and final Sunday’s episode marks the start of a extra thrilling arc, simply in time for this present to wrap up (after which we watch for the various spinoffs).

Since I’ll be reviewing Episode 22 and 23 at this time as nicely, I’m going to maintain my recapping of Episode 21—titled Outpost 22—transient.

Mainly, our group is break up up as a few of our heroes are captured, some escape seize, some plan their escape, and a few chase down the capturers. After which there are the youngsters, who’ve been taken and whose whereabouts are unknown.

Ezekiel, Negan and Kelly are taken on a busload of prisoners to a piece camp referred to as Outpost 22, the place it seems like persons are tasked with carrying random sticks and rocks round. It is vitally “Hollywood thinks this can be a what a piece camps seems like” however I’ll let it slide.

Kelly needs to flee since there are so few guards however Ezekiel is cautious—with good purpose, it seems. The Stormtroopers, for as soon as, can shoot with lethal accuracy, mowing down escapees with out ceremony or any makes an attempt at recapture.

Negan ultimately enlists Ezekiel to assist him hatch an escape plan. He’s fearful about Annie, who was taken some place else. Ezekiel isn’t glad about working with Negan. “For the shit I’ve performed,” Negan says, “I most likely need to be in a spot like this. It suits. But it surely doesn’t suit you, Ezekiel, and it certain as shit doesn’t match my spouse and child that’s on its manner.”

Negan tells Ezekiel that the one option to encourage the prisoners to an rebellion is thru hope, not concern. “And that’s your factor, Ezekiel. It’s positively not mine.”

Elsewhere, Maggie, Gabriel and Rosita are being held prisoner in a truck. They break away, inflicting the truck to crash and Maggie escapes on foot. Gabriel and Rosita are left mendacity within the dust.

Maggie is nearly found by a Stormtrooper when a toddler zombie seems strolling towards them. With the soldier distracted, Maggie leaps to motion, stabbing him by way of the armpit and grabbing his gun.

Carol and Daryl, contemporary off the killing of Hornsby, are in search of their buddies. Quickly, all three teams converge. They query the dying Stormtrooper and Gabriel ultimately will get some data out of him.

There’s a prepare coming they usually waylay it. After a enjoyable shootout, they take the Conductor prisoner and free Connie, although one of many Stormtroopers tries holding her at gunpoint first.

The Stormtrooper is caught off guard when Connie breaks free, and escapes on one of many bikes. Carol shoots halfheartedly at him and misses, and Daryl hops on a motorbike and chases him down. It’s a enjoyable chase. When the dangerous man loses management and runs off on foot, Daryl does a cool motorbike slide-under-a-fallen-tree transfer that knocks the goon to the bottom. With out a phrase, Daryl takes out his knife and stabs him to loss of life. We may have used extra badass moments like this all through the season, however at the very least we’re getting them now.

The prepare conductor is taken prisoner and tells them that there’s a map within the prepare that can present them the place everyone seems to be being taken. The conductor then kills himself slightly than let his household be killed over him betraying the Commonwealth. Rattling.

They find yourself getting in radio contact with the Commonwealth, pretending to be members of the convoy who bought separated and mainly ask for instructions on the place to fulfill up. The stunning reply? Outpost 22 is definitely Alexandria, repurposed as a jail camp. That is the place Ezekiel and the remainder are taken on the finish of the episode. I suppose the primary cease alongside the way in which was only a momentary “transfer sticks and rocks” spot.

“Pamela is gonna pay,” Maggie says. “And she or he’ll by no means see it coming.”

Missed Alternatives

I feel that one points I’m having with this present proper now’s all of the missed alternatives for this remaining season to have been so a lot better. The story beats they selected to skip over (or have been pressured to skip over, in some instances) are vital ones that would have helped flesh out this remaining showdown.

For example, Negan talks loads about how a lot he loves his spouse Annie and the way she’s made him a greater man. He’s prepared to sacrifice himself (although we all know he can’t, given his spinoff with Maggie) for Annie. However we didn’t get to see them meet. We didn’t get to learn the way they fell in love or stroll that path with them. The viewers ought to care about Annie the identical manner Negan does, and we should always see Negan by way of her eyes, too. However this was all disregarded. As an alternative, we spent a lot of time with our group preventing the random Reaver group, which simply felt like retreading previous floor.

Similar goes for the overly bloated solid. As an alternative of actually with the ability to concentrate on simply the core group, we’ve spent far an excessive amount of time this season introducing new characters or hopping between established secondary characters. That is really one factor I loved about this episode. We’ve slimmed down the main focus basically to 2 teams: Daryl, Carol, Gabriel, Rosita and Maggie within the first (and Connie, ultimately); Negan, Ezekiel and Kelly within the second. It’s lastly beginning to really feel extra centered.

Scattered ideas:

• I appreciated Gabriel’s line: “Since you’re a coward” when he’s speaking with the dying Stormtrooper. I’m much less keen on the truth that Random Commonwealth Man will get a extra dramatic loss of life than a lot of our heroes. Much more screen-time than poor Hornsby.
• The motorbike chase was enjoyable however why is Daryl a lot quicker than the opposite man?
• The prepare conductor finally ends up killing himself slightly than have the Commonwealth uncover that he helped our heroes as a result of the Commonwealth “will torture me after which they’ll kill my household.” I really feel like much more work wanted to enter constructing the Commonwealth up into that type of place earlier than we bought up to now. It’s by no means come throughout as even remotely that sinister. Unhealthy? Positive. However nothing like this.
• Was Connie the one prisoner on that prepare? I don’t assume we see any others. And the way did that Stormtrooper know to make use of her as his bullet defend?
• The zombie child was a pleasant callback to another traumatizing occasions in The Strolling Lifeless’s historical past, however the second felt a little bit pressured to me. Too on-the-nose with Maggie’s personal fears about her kidnapped youngster. (I’m undecided about her naming the child Hershel as an alternative of Glenn additionally, the extra I give it some thought, however no matter).

General, a fairly good episode. We’re lastly making up for misplaced time and overlaying some floor. The pacing was a lot better than most of this season, with enjoyable motion scenes and a few dramatic twists and turns. No Eugene romance, no ice cream, no protesters on the Commonwealth chanting, blissfully unaware that their households will doubtless be killed they usually’ll all be despatched far-off to work camps.

What did you assume? Let me know on Twitter or Fb.