The Walking Dead has started to resemble Fear the Walking Dead with its similar character problems, and Season 11 might be too late to fix them.

Coming into the final episodes, it’s unclear why The Walking Dead has chosen to adopt the worst traits of its namesake universe. Season 11, Episode 21, “Outpost 22,” shines a light on an issue that Fear the Walking Dead suffered from in its seventh season: there are too many characters to even count.

Having many characters isn’t necessarily bad. Game of Thrones had a famously large cast, but managed it well with multiple storylines that almost always went in a satisfying direction. Even The Walking Dead‘s earliest seasons had many survivors steering in different directions — as in Season 4 after the prison fell — but the characters were intriguing to watch. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the comically heroic characters of Season 11, who almost all feel like a carbon copy of each other. Why does The Walking Dead need so many renditions of the same character if their stories all go down the same path?

Too Many Characters, Not Enough Time

Fear the Walking Dead Season 7 suffered from its abundance of characters whose story almost went nowhere. The spinoff tested the anthology format in Season 6, and while it breathed new life into the series, it became too much of a good thing. Season 7 was an odd array of stories that rarely had any connection as FTWD tried to give all of its characters an equal amount of screen time. But characters like Wes, John Dorie Sr. and Mickey weren’t the main characters. Alicia Clark, arguably the most beloved character, was a rare sight in Season 7 and only had a significant storyline when Alycia Debnam-Carey quietly departed from the series.

Similarly, characters such as Kelly, Yumiko and Annie can’t hold a candle to longstanding heroes on The Walking Dead. When they receive the spotlight for an episode, their stories can at times feel underwhelming. These are the last episodes so truthfully nobody cares about Negan’s new pregnant wife who appeared only just a few episodes ago. It only makes matters worse when these characters’ motives and actions seem to have no payoff in the future.

What Is Happening With Aaron’s Group?

It’s shocking that Aaron’s group hasn’t been The Walking Dead‘s main concern in the final episodes. Of course the Commonwealth storyline will always take priority, but the variant of walkers was a game-changer. But the variant was a threat for one episode before being quickly dismissed as some sort of fairytale that came true. No one was frightened by the revelation that walkers are more sentient and intelligent. The only logical reason is there wasn’t enough time for Aaron’s group to worry about this — because there are three other threats in waiting.

As of “Outpost 22,” there are four storylines simultaneously occurring: Ezekiel’s group at the labor camps, Daryl’s group coming to rescue them, Aaron’s group on the way to Oceanside and Eugene on trial at the Commonwealth. AMC has teased all four storylines moving forward in the next episode, but no one will be fully satisfied by whatever outcome actually happens. Everyone has a favorite character from each of these groups — and none of them are being given the writers’ full attention. It’s an issue that has grown since Rick Grimes disappeared and the series was without a clear protagonist, just like how Fear the Walking Dead was when Madison Clark temporarily left. There’s nobody to lead the story, so The Walking Dead relies on its numerous characters to share the spotlight… the same fatal flaw that Fear the Walking Dead has.