As far as I remember, the episode at the beach (and eventually gym before) was part of the troubled youth path, and Zorlun had also said that either through that, or through the prison (I remember troubled youth, but I may be wrong), Myriam could get again "in touch" with the young fellows who had attacked hobo ( and had promised revenge).
I am not sure if they were completely eliminated, or just postponed due to the quantity of paths possible. In any case, as far as I understood it, those were never meant as "main paths", meaning, with their own ending, but rather as kind of "quests"/deviations the player could make her do to add (or not) some spice and set the stage (variables values) for other things.
Yes, I do agree that technically those are sub-routes the player can take and yes sending Myriam's ex-husband to Prison was what triggered the whole work with troubled-youth or the other option, if I recall correctly.
I don't think I remember which episode at the beach or gym before you mean, it's been a while since I've last played this game so my memory is a bit fuzzy, care to remind me?
I understand that Zorlun has a lot on their plate and that they're attempting to bring closure to the main routes, so depending on your choices you reach a specific ending. It's a lot of work for a solo dev like them and I'm honestly surprised that they didn't abandon the project altogether, kudos for their dedication
But Aiden, the troubled-youth path, as well as the other option from the prison which involved working with adult-prisoners.. to my memory are plot holes that would be cool if they were expanded upon. I don't know if it's in Zorlun's plans or not.. but I found myself particularly invested with Aiden and then the troubled-youth route as a whole which started with
Bobo being almost murdered and they had a lot of potential.
I know that Zorlun said in the past that they had plans to give Aiden a few more events, which I'm thankful for. Perhaps it could be a good idea if this was done for the troubled-youth route as well