People are crying that the returning ex is a cliché. I pointed out many other clichés in the game that work, hence being a cliché is not a problem in its own right. It's how it's implemented that matters, and none of us know how it's implemented since none of us has played episode 9 yet.
The problem with Zoey isn't that she's a cliche, it's the timing of the cliche.
If Zoey had returned before the crossroad she would have
advanced the story. Her return would be a natural explanation for why the MC felt it was finally time to choose in the first place. Moreover the players would have a chance to get to know her and thus properly weigh her in their ultimate decision, the way the MC should have.
By returning after the crossroads Zoey instead
resets the story. She either kills time forcing us to reaffirm the same decision all over again or she pulls down the curtain and shows that the crossroad was a fake all along. The game swore up and down the MC was ready to make a commitment, that his decision was going to be important - to the point DPC named the episode after it. I'm not going to rethink that decision before I've even had a chance to see what's behind the door I picked. If the MC does the waffling for me, then the whole second season was a waste of time because the MC hasn't learned a damn thing and my choices are window dressing.
The only way Zoey can fit into the narrative gracefully is if she's a purely optional love interest, someone who will conform to whatever role we assign her. But that doesn't fit with her needing her own Interlude, and it sure doesn't fit with DPC's pathological need to maximize
short term drama at all times. So you'll forgive me if I need to see solid proof Zoey isn't just here to pad the game out an extra season before I welcome her back with open arms.
As far as Zoey being a horrible person, I don't agree. She made a dumb mistake leaving for San Diego the way she did, but she's teenager in a coming of age story: missteps are par for the course. Zoey's got miles to go before her decision making is as bad as Jill's.
I do wish the Interlude had made it clear she'd started to learn from that mistake (rather than coming home only after she ran out of money), because that would save us time establishing her growth later on in Season 3. But that's a problem with DPC's writing in the Interlude, not Zoey herself.