Sunday's 'Fear the Walking Dead' may not be the last time we see one of the show's main characters

• Warning: There are spoilers ahead for season seven, episode 15 of "Fear the Walking Dead."
• "Fear TWD" season seven, episode 15 marks Alycia Debnam-Carey's final episode of the "TWD" spinoff.

Sunday's episode of "Fear the Walking Dead" marked the 100th episode of the series and Alycia Debnam-Carey's final episode of the series; however, it may not be the last time we see the actress on the show as Alicia Clark.

Insider has learned that fans may see Debnam-Carey return to "Fear TWD" in the future despite season seven, episode 15 serving as her farewell episode.

According to a source with knowledge of the series, Sunday's episode concludes Alicia's story, for now. However, the way in which she departs the show is meant to leave the door open for Debnam-Carey to potentially reprise her character at some point down the line.

In a post shared on Instagram after the episode, Debnam-Carey made her leave from the show sound more final.

"To my dearest @feartwd family, tonight marks the end of an extraordinary and life changing journey of playing Alicia Clark," Debnam-Carey wrote in an Instagram post. "It is bittersweet, but it is time."

What happened to Alicia at the end of season seven, episode 15

The first time you watch season seven, episode 15, the final few minutes may have left you a bit confused unless you have access to AMC+ and watched a bonus feature attached to the episode.

At the episode's end, Alicia appears to succumb to her mysterious illness (which is never clearly defined on the show).

When Alicia awakes, she looks radiant and rejuvenated. Her hair looks finely brushed. The dark circles under her eyes are gone. One interpretation of the scene is that Alicia may have died and we're seeing an angelic representation of her marching off into the horizon, at peace knowing that she gave her life to save the people she loves.

Such a symbolic moment would have served as a direct parallel to Madison Clark's (Kim Dickens) final moments on "Fear" back in season four. Back then, it was previously believed that Alicia's mother scarified her life for her children and friends to carry forward in the zombie apocalypse. (In December, it was announced Dickens would return to "Fear TWD.")

For those who feared that Alicia's character died at the episode's end, that doesn't seem to be the case.

The episode's bonus feature on AMC+ seems to confirm that Alicia was in fact alive at the episode's end. Here's how coshowrunner Andrew Chambliss explains what happens in the episode's final moments:

"Alicia collapses, seemingly succumbing to the fever. She wakes up seeing this bird flying over her. And I think it's open to interpretation whether or not that bird is really there, whether or not she really freed a bird from the Tower, or whether that was all part of her subconscious. And, if it was, maybe this is just her subconscious trying to guide her once again. And we really wanted to build this kind of reawakening of Alicia, where she has been through this incredible journey and is now standing up and is going to be walking into kind of a new world with a newfound strength... We know that she's been saving that bullet out of fear of turning. Her using that on a walker really is a sign that Alicia believes she has beaten this thing, that Alicia thinks she's going to live... Then we see her walk off as a triumphant hero."

If you were confused as to why Alicia looked so vibrant and why her hair suddenly seemed more luxurious in the final seconds of the episode, it seems the show was just trying to give Debnam-Carey a hero's exit where her appearance matched the part.

Insider was also given the impression that Alicia didn't die at the episode's end since we were informed that season seven, episode 15 is simply the end of Alicia's story for now. A source added that the way in which the episode culminates "certainly leaves open the possibility" to see Alicia again.

Neither representatives for AMC nor Debnam-Carey responded to a request for comment from Insider when asked to clarify and confirm Alicia's mystery illness on "Fear TWD."

Why is Debnam-Carey leaving 'Fear TWD' just as Kim Dickens is returning? A new role.

Regardless of whether or not you're satisfied with Alicia's sendoff on "Fear," it's extremely frustrating that Alicia's final "Fear TWD" episode — for now (whatever that means) — occurs right before Dickens, who played Debnam-Carey's mother on the series for the show's first four seasons, returns to the series next week.

Previews for the upcoming season finale, which is currently available to stream on AMC+, but which press cannot discuss until it airs June 5 on television, have teased Madison's appearance.

Naturally, fans would expect a reunion between the mother and daughter duo.

So why is Debnam-Carey leaving "Fear"?

In May, the actress joined Hulu's upcoming adaptation of Alexis Schaitkin's "Saint X." The eight-part 2023 series follows a young woman's journey (Debnam-Carey) as she tries, years later, to comprehend the death of her older sister on a vacation. Debnam-Carey replaced Victoria Pedretti ("You") on the series.

Dickens' return to "Fear" was announced in December 2021. In an interview with Insider, Chambliss and coshowrunner Ian Goldberg said they Zoomed with Dickens in January 2021 pitch her on a potential return to the series.

"It was a reality that we knew about for almost a year before we were able to tell anyone," Chambliss told Insider.

It would be a mistake if fans don't get to see Alicia on the show again now that Dickens is back.

What was the point in having Madison Clark return to "Fear TWD" if she can't reunite with her daughter on the series? Part of the excitement and expectation in having Madison return to "Fear TWD" was to see her reunite not only with her pal Victor Strand (Colman Domingo), but also her daughter, Alicia.

The best narrative choice in season seven, episode 15 was keeping Alicia alive. Fans would've been livid if Alicia was killed off of "Fear," believing her mother to be dead, only for the season finale to reveal that her mother's been alive this entire time.

Even if there's a possibility that Debnam-Carey could return some day, it feels like that would need to happen sooner rather than later.

Despite "Fear the Walking Dead" getting renewed for an eighth season in December 2021, in which Dickens will be a series regular, it's tough to imagine how many more seasons AMC can squeeze out of the "TWD" spinoff.

Unlike the show's shockingly strong season six, the back-half of season seven has been a slog to get through. It often feels like homework as characters are making silly choices years into the apocalypse to put themselves in unnecessary danger. Other characters, like Wes (Colby Hollman), have taken abrupt, unrealistic turns (the former pacifist and painter randomly became a distraught villain late in season seven), resulting in their demise.

Currently, despite episodes streaming a week early, episodes are watched by less than 1 million viewers. The series has struggled to maintain an average of 2 million viewers consistently since season four when Dickens left the series.

Since Hulu's "Saint X" is an eight-part series, Deadline reported that Debnam-Carey could be available later during the shooting of "Fear" season eight, which should start shooting this summer.

That seems like a best-case scenario at this point.

But would Debnam-Carey really want to return to a series whose ratings continue to plummet? Unless the actress really wants to return to make some sort of Alicia/Madison reunion happen for the fans, it seems like AMC would need to make a case for Debnam-Carey to reprise her role. At this point, "Fear" needs Debnam-Carey more than she needs the show.

Would you like to see a Madison and Alicia Clark reunion on "Fear TWD"? Let me know @KirstenAcuna on Twitter.

You can follow along with our ongoing "TWD" universe coverage here.