I also agree that the part of the storyline involving Vicki and Peter was totally unnecessary, and, quite frankly, disrespectful to the fans. If you're going to [spoiler]kill off our initial heroine, do it properly, with a story arc devoted to it; don't give us a line that says, "Oh, by the way, Vicki's dead."
Chris and Carolyn are cousins, yes, but distant ones.[/spoiler]