It's a terrible take. Seriously, the worst take ever. Why don't you assume Garen arrives to Noxus, where no one gives two shits about his royal codex, justice or honor? You assume that Katarina has to submit for this relationship to work, even if their relationship theme is literally "that can't work because we're both equally loyal to our respective fractions". You made up a non-existent issue and said it makes this relationship bad.
You're allowed to dislike this ship and any ship to be honest for whatever reason, but please stop claiming any narrative that's different than your own as problematic, cliche and sexist, because the only one being sexist is you, assuming that woman's life ends when she gets married.
Some thoughts on why I don’t like Katarina/Garen as a ship
This sort of stems from thoughts about Katarina’s character from the story I’ve been working on and it isn’t meant to be a personal attack on anyone who ships them.
The ship and the cannon lore about it date back to when Demacia were the clear “good guys” of League and Noxus were the “bad guys”. So to me it’s always contained this element that Kat is some sort of poor misguided woman who needs Garen to come along and save her from the evil ways that have been thrust upon her.
I hate that. She doesn’t need to be saved. What do we know from the current updated lore? While she may have lost her father’s confidence she is a very accomplished and talented assassin who relishes what she does and serving her Empire. There’s even an indication she may have been involved in whatever happened to her father. When Swain takes a soul fragment from her in game one of the voice lines is “Do they know who killed your father, or do they still blame me?” Her father was a legendary assassin in his own right, if she was the one that killed him, that’s quite a feat.
Speaking of Swain, in the short story “Message on a Blade’s Edge” Katarina is working for Swain. While her target in the story says the Trifairx sent her, Kat at the end exclusively mentions Swain. So the visionary leader of Noxus uses her as an assassin, that speaks highly of her skills, and her loyalty to Noxus.
In Noxus it would appear that being an assassin has no stigma attached to it and in fact it appears to be a regular function of the military. Her father was a General who brought her to the front lines for the purpose of state sanctioned assassinations. In the Legends of Runeterra card game it looks like she is quite experienced joining in military campaigns. Her occupation is nothing to be ashamed of in the Empire. Also, I’d like to reiterate, she seems to enjoy what she does quite a bit.
Where would that leave Kat/Garen as a ship? He “rescues” her from a life of assassinations? What then? Do they go back to Demacia? To me it ends in a terrible cliché of her realizing how “wicked” she’s been and Garen “redeems” her. There’s nothing for her to do at that point but get married and be his wife. Demacia certainly is going to be so open about assassinations, given the current lore I don’t doubt they happen, but probably much more secretively. I can’t see Garen being chill with her doing that. So she loses her career, her home, the respect she’s earned from the leadership of her country and gains what? A man? I don’t know, it just seems like it makes her somehow lesser, somehow not a fully realized person in her own right. It reduces her to a war prize, a reward for Garen’s “justness” and “rightness”
Brothers Karamazov: orthodox monasteries, deep woods, starry nights, the sound of paper being torn, dimly lit rooms, withered roses, an unfinished letter, piles of books, the sound of shattering glass, ticking of clocks in a silent house, heavy wooden furniture, the air before a storm, the smell of earth, a crowd of people dressed in black, distant murmurs, emptied streets, the fear of walking alone in dusk
Crime and Punishment: coldness of the skin against a blade, slender pale fingers and slightly shaking hands, a red stain blooming on white fabric, lonely steps in a corridor, the slow dripping of water, looking out of the window into the thickening darkness, a single dying candle on the table, listening to one’s breath and counting heartbeats, too many stairs, the desire to be invisible, a subtle memory of kind word
The Idiot: classical statues, wealth covered with dust, a dark house tainted with inherited madness, an unsettling feeling, long walks in a park, useless chatter, a silken ribbon forgotten on a bench, a melancholic face, an unexpected spring rain, the joy of reading one’s favorite book, the clarity of mind after fully perceiving the world around, looking at cloudless sky
Anna Karenina: fields of crops, flowers brought from an early morning walk, the wind caressing a girl’s hair, a bowl of fruit, the smell of ripe pears, the clatter of a spoon against porcelain when stirring tea, children’s laughter coming from the garden, soft sunlight and white curtains, the sensation of velvet against skin, pearls from a ripped necklace spilling on marble floor, a sudden silence in a room full of people
War and Peace: a glass of wine, the brightness of a crystal chandelier, white lace, a raging snow storm, the sound of a door being gently closed, the moment of holding one’s breath before walking in a ball room, indulging in looking at a beautiful earring against light, the sound of a saber being drawn, closing one’s eyes for a moment while dancing, the sweet smell of strawberries, a pair of gloves left on an armchair, light scent of powder
The Master and Margarita: the chaos of a lively city, ambient jazz in expensive restaurants, jumping on a moving tram, the sight of Moscow from the roof of a house, yellow flowers in a vase, leaning out of the window, shelves stacked with books, a small tin box with old photographs, strange shapes in the night sky, laughing in the middle of the night on a balcony, colorful posters for a surreptitious magician’s show floating in the wind
Eugene Onegin: a lonely mansion, reading a book in the parlor, faint piano melody lingering in falling silence, long evenings, passing seasons, discussing french novels of the moment, unspoken thoughts, leaning against the door frame, quickly averted glance, eating a peach absent-minded, bright mornings, footprints in snow, a loud gun-shot terrifying a flock of birds nearby
A Hero of Our Time: byronic boredom, getting up late in the afternoon, the hidden unspeakable sadness of existence, shakespeare’s tragedy opened next to untouched breakfast, cigarette smoke, polished boots, walking with one’s coat wide open letting the night chill break through to the bone, carved wooden chair, fading warmth of the ashes late in the evening, the thought of farewell
Fathers and Sons: birch groves, morning mist, moss covered stones near a moor, scientific books, white roses, cheap champagne, shabby pocket-watch, light-hearted irony, a maladroit cello sonata, freshly mowed grass, leaving thoughts come and go, a slow yawn, picturesque plates and bowls filled with traditional dishes, drinking tea on the porch, longing for the future
Doctor Zhivago: a strange feeling of loss, writing poems in a diary, traveling by train, the hesitation before touching someone’s hand, the gaze of one lost in thought, the warmth of cinnamon, a scarf brightly embellished with flowers, a glass of water, two people listening each on the other side of the door, a threadbare jacket, the tempting void, the evanescent serenity of yesterday
Dead Souls: horses in a merry gallop, delicious smells mingled, grotesque and bizarre tragedy, luxurious attire cheap soul, masks, a perfumed love letter, the triumph of sarcasm, an unattached wheel rolling down a dusty road, the atmosphere of commedia dell’ arte, puzzling speeches, a baffling caricature drawn on a handkerchief
Cherry Orchard: a lone chair in an empty room, falling blossoms, old samovar, the unsettling need for change, a mirror reflecting full moon, the disappointment of a glossy object turning worthless after second glance, a piano out of tune
Tsurumaki: Kaworu’s line stayed the same from the very first storyboard. It was something he said while wearing his usual relaxed smile. Of course, at the last minute, just, I think, before we started postsynchronization, we began talking about whether or not it would be better if Kaworu looked scary during that scene.
Interviewer: As a result, it looks like he’s come to take his bride by force!
Tsurumaki: Right, right (laughing). [We thought it would be] more interesting if Kaworu looked like [he was thinking]: “You’ve been with a woman while I’ve been away? How dare you…!” It’s not Kaworu’s usual relaxed expression; he’s somehow become irritated, right?
–Kazuya Tsurumaki, Evangelion 2.0 Complete Records Collection (Director of Neon Genesis Evangelion & Rebuild of Evangelion) Translation by 1731298478 on Evageeks.org
Pray, pray, Shinji, that Rebuild Kaworu has anime Kaworu’s characterization and that it’s not manga Kaworu descending from the heavens, impaling things with his lance, with a “Bitch, I know you did not cheat on me!” look on his face.