Ali Larter has played an online stripper with an annoying evil alter ego and now an icy political adviser, all on one show. Confused? So are we.

Niki Saunders and her look-alikes are a plot line in Heroes that just won't die. The show killed off ex-online stripper Niki and her split evil personality during season two in an explosion, but quickly brought her back as a pearl-wearing political adviser Tracy Strauss. The continuing Niki look-alike drama has just been a distraction. If there's a good reasons for keeping her around, viewers need to know. Now.

Every show left us wondering how Niki's schizophrenia made her a hero, like death-defying Claire Bennet (played by Hayden Panettiere) or time-and-space traveler Hiro Nakamura (played by Masi Oka). Niki simpering struggles to fight off Jessica's influence felt like an uncompleted thought and proved to be annoying, but little Micah was so lovable, that we dealt with it. Heroes is famed for having a difficult plot line to follow. This weakness is the result of writing characters who play a bigger part than they should. Just when we thought we were rid of Niki/Jessica and left with her sweet, curly-haired son Micah, the writers brought Ali Larter back as Tracy Strauss. She died. And then she came back. Again.