'The Walking Dead': What Happened to a Major Character

— -- Sunday night's episode of "The Walking Dead" started with Carol packing up supplies, and Tobin seemingly unaware of her decision.

After they sleep together, she sneaks away.

Otherwise, Alexandria is back to normal. Glenn and Maggie shower together. Abraham and Sasha exchange loving looks as they swap guard shifts -- to Rosita's dismay.

Michonne wakes in Rick's arms. They share an apple from Jesus' Hilltop community. "This is good," Rick says of the situation. "Everything we need is within these walls."

Haunted by Dr. Denise's death -- and how he indirectly caused it by not killing her murderer, Dwight -- Daryl leaves, right about the time Tobin brings Carol's note to Rick and company. Rick and Morgan scramble to try to find her, while Rosita, Glenn and Michonne take off to hunt for Daryl.

Carol doesn't get far. On the road, her car passes a pickup truck and its occupants shoot out her tires, sending her skidding to a stop.

With their guns trained on her, Carol slips into her meek "disguise," introducing herself as "Nancy from Montclair." One of the men introduces himself and makes it known he wants information about Alexandria -- and is willing to take her hostage and bring her back there.

Playing panicky, Carol lets only her rosaries hang from her empty sleeve. Hysterically shaking, she gets the men laughing at her -- and that's when she lights them up with the machine gun that she'd hidden in her apparently-not-empty-after-all sleeve. She seemingly kills all but two. One returns fire, and Carol dodges him until she runs him through with one of her car's spikes. With one to go and bleeding, the one-time ringleader unsheathes a massive knife. A shot rings out.

We find he's belly shot and dying. Another inside the truck comes to; he struggles out of the vehicle, bleeding, and starts tracking Carol through a field. Rick and Morgan make it to the scene; no sign of Carol, just dead or dying men.

"I'm proud of her," Rick beams. "That woman is a force of nature."

Bleeding, the man Carol shot is tracking her, too. He comes across her discarded rosaries.

Glenn, Rosita, and Michonne come to the tracks where Denise died, and find Daryl's hidden bike. A warning bolt fires from his crossbow, announcing his intention to finish his vendetta with Dwight to avenge Dr. Denise. Glenn and Michonne can't convince Daryl to come home. Instead, Rosita joins him to hunt for Dwight.

With the group broken up, Glenn and Michonne get startled by a few men...including Dwight. Glenn lowers his weapon.

Meanwhile, Rick and Morgan continue their hunt for Carol, following a trail of blood.

They come across a farm and a man looking for a horse. Rick tries to shoot the stranger, but Morgan stops him. But they have no time to argue or pursue the mystery man, as a fenced in area is soon crawling with walkers. Rick and Morgan make quick work of them -- including Grimes' saving Morgan from a bite to the neck.

Morgan confesses about holding Wolf prisoner, explaining nobody is beyond saving, and to prove it, he explains to Rick that the captured Wolf who took Dr. Denise hostage later saved her -- and she then saved Carl. They part ways, with Morgan vowing to find Carol, and Rick telling Morgan, "Michonne did steal that protein bar.""I know," Morgan laughs.

Rick returns to Alexandria, finding Michonne still gone.

Within the walls, Enid gives Maggie a haircut -- only to see the mom-to-be doubled over and screaming in intense abdominal pain.

Meanwhile, Daryl and Rosita spot a campsite at which Glenn and Michonne are tied up and make a move to get them -- only to have Dwight show up behind Daryl and shoot him -- blood spraying everywhere from the favorite character -- and that's where the episode ends.

Next week's 90-minute season finale of "The Walking Dead" airs at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.