Electrons going down the voltage gradient are like if bumper cars were lined up bumper to bumper pushing down a long downhill ramp.
The car at the top of the hill has the most potential energy; the car at the bottom of the hill has the least. But still, cars **have** to come off the bottom of the ramp as quickly as they are added to the top of the ramp.
The ramp is a series circuit. The cars are electric charges. The rate of traffic flow is current.
Capacitors change the rules a bit, adding a capacitor is like placing a rest stop next to the road, but there’s no way back out except by driving backwards up the offramp.
All of this stuff is required by conservation of mass & energy.
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