Liz Foster's death was nothing but a set up for a new storyline, though Julianna, a great actress, played it brilliantly.
I don't see why they couldn't have her hang around for a month, spending quailty time with her family before bumping her off, just to give the viewers some payback.
She was a lead character for 10 years, from day one, and has returned to the show repeatedly. She's part of the show's core history. Her final exit was a slap in the face to the audience.
The pre-Barnabas eps of DS had better writing than this.
And, amazingly, pre-Barn DS had far better ratings than "#1" Y & R has now.