I don't want to engage with the ongoing argument. Nevertheless, you can't have control/agency over everything and I like when games acknowledge that, especially in relationship between characters, be it friendship, rivalry, love, or something else entirely.

There are games, where protagonist's family members get killed, i.e. Far Cry 3 comes to mind. A certain group of people could've experienced such horrors IRL, seeing such a scene being violently depicted in a game can be very unpleasant for most and traumatizing for some. I can't imagine people asking to remove this type of content though, or change it, to be a good thing. It serves narrative(!) purposes. You can't raise awareness about certain matters without depicting them and showing the associated cause and consequence. Sometimes stuff just happens, you get beaten up in the street in the middle of the night (hello, Astarion) or you get grabbed by your throat without enough time to process a thoughtful and appropriate reaction. Sometimes you just act on the whim, then contemplate later. In that regard, both patch 6 and patch 7 variants are equally just as crucial plot points that raise player's awareness about the new Astarion. Is it who he is now? Is it concerning? Do I like it? Am I OK with this? What does it mean for the relationship? It all shows in both versions, and it's the most important part.