Why is it that the absolute best episodes of "The Walking Dead" are Daryl (Norman Reedus) riding solo with one other character? Add in a Daryl/Carol (Melissa McBride) pairing, and you have the stuff that dreams are made of, if your dreams involve watching episodes of television.

That aside, "Consumed" was another superb episode with some deep character moments, huge stunts and big, big plot developments. Here's every big thing we saw:

The Fire Rises

Like on last week's Abraham-centric hour, this week we got to see a little more of what's been going on when we cut away from Carol - and as a neat thematic tie to her huge speech about every iteration of her being burned away, we get to see all the times she's noticed a smoke plume in the sky.

In particular, that first scene - with Carol just exiled by Rick, and not even allowed to have a moment to sob in her car before a walker "attacks" - was devastating. Melissa McBride, and Carol, have grown tremendously over the years, and this simple, sad moment just nailed why we love her so much.

Going Back To Cali Atlanta

Daryl and Carol head back to Atlanta to find Beth, and even more than last week we get a glimpse of the world as it is now. We revisit the classic shot of Atlanta's main road, blocked on one side, free on the other. We see the tank from the first season. In fact, the only location we haven't seen again is probably the CDC. Wonder if we'll head back there soon...

Surviving Abuse

There's a huge theme running through this episode tying into Carol's abuse by her husband back in season one, and it ties perfectly into what's happened to Carol over the past five seasons. She steals a book called "Treating Survivors Of Childhood Abuse..." And isn't that what she's doing all episode long? Treating her own abuse? Fighting back against it, and growing stronger every time.

Carol is tired - and by episode's end nearly broken - but what we know is that she'll always come back.

The Good Ship Caryl

Come on. They were on a bed together. You could hear the screams of shippers from space.

Noah's Bark

Noah, escaped from the hospital where he left Beth, encounters Daryl and Carol - and in a tense scene, steals their weapons, then slices open a tent filled with walkers. "Sorry about this. You look tough. You’ll be all right," Noah says before leaving the duo to die.

But, you know, they don't die - and instead later corner Noah who gets caught under a bookcase. “Nah, I already helped you once. Won’t happen again," Daryl says, leaving Noah to die - until he relents, and shoots an arrow at a Walker about to eat the dude.

As much as this episode is firmly about Carol's evolution, it also strongly touches on Daryl's growth, too. He has morals, he takes care of people, and he's not the redneck loner we met in season one, just as much as Carol isn't the abused, scared wife.

Crash Vandicoot

The stand-out scene of the episode? Daryl, who has clearly never seen a movie ever, goes inside of a van hanging half off a bridge to look for clues to Beth's location. Because those NEVER fall. Except, that's exactly the point. Walkers attack the van, surrounding our duo. So they strap into their seatbelts and drive the van off the bridge to escape

And if that wasn't hardcore enough, walkers follow them off the bridge, falling on to the van and exploding.

It was pretty cool.

War Is Coming

At the end of the episode, a hurt Carol gets nearly run over by one of Grady Hospital's cars - and taken to Grady not as part of a stealth rescue mission (like we thought), but as a patient.

Noah heads off with Daryl, terrified of Grady. "They’ve got guns. People," Noah tells Daryl.

"So do we," Daryl shoots right back. Yeah. War is coming... Again.

Who do you think will survive to see the next half of the season? Let us know in the comments below.