WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Transformers: War for Cybertron -- Earthrise, now streaming on Netflix.
By the time the first chapter of Netflix's Transformers: War for Cybertron trilogy ended, it seemed like a love triangle had been set up for Optimus Prime. Siege concluded with Optimus pursuing the Allspark off-planet and Elita staying behind with Jetfire cozying up to her after defecting from the Decepticons. The duo believed in saving Cybertron by fighting on the ground, not necessarily chasing a power source lost in the galaxy, and it felt like Optimus was too idealistic for them.
However, come the second chapter, Earthrise, a twist in that love triangle is revealed as the third party turns out to be Optimus' greatest enemy, Megatron.
Some stories have had Megatron pining for Elita, but she's always been Optimus' one and only love. Earthrise clearly understands that and quickly dispels the notion that she could be sparking up something with Jetfire. Elita's primary concern outside of Optimus is why Megatron's turning on his own kind, but her role as liberator lands her in his clutches.
As he interrogates her, it's clear Megatron has feelings for her, calling Elita by her real name, "Ariel." It's not something Optimus did regularly, indicating this was her before she became a soldier in the crusade. With the bombshell, he admits he doesn't want to kill her, he wants her by his side, just like the old days. Megatron tells her they want the same thing -- to save Cybertron, but clearly, they have different ways of going about it.
He's more iron-fisted, while Elita believes in democracy, not dictatorial politics like what the Decepticons have birthed. Still, the way she listens to him, contemplates his words and remembers the past, Elita clearly cares for the villain. It also leaves one wondering if she left Megatron when he broke bad and turned on Alpha Trion's charges, or if she chose Optimus and that's what made Megatron bitter enough to lead an uprising.
Either way, she connects with his vision, but she just doesn't like the brutal way he conducted it. This explains why Elita grew a bit distant from Optimus in Siege, as she was seeing hints of Megatron in him. Optimus himself recognized signs he could be walking a darker path in the Dead Universe, and connecting it to what Elita thinks back home, it looks like she's still hurting over how Megatron betrayed them. Elita had hope in Megatron as someone more than just a soldier, so hopefully, Kingdom will fully elaborate on their past, especially since the series has been coy about what created the civil war and why brothers-in-arms turned on each other.
Developed by Rooster Teeth Studios, Transformers: War for Cybertron - Earthrise features the voice talents of Jake Foushee as Optimus Prime, Jason Marnocha as Megatron, Linsay Rousseau as Elita-1, Joe Zieja as Bumblebee, Frank Todaro as Starscream, Rafael Goldstein as Ratchet, Keith Silverstein as Jetfire, Todd Haberkorn as Shockwave & Red Alert, Edward Bosco as Ultra Magnus & Soundwave, Bill Rogers as Wheeljack, Sophia Isabella as Arcee, Brook Chalmers as Impactor, Shawn Hawkins as Mirage, Kaiser Johnson as Ironhide, Miles Luna as Teletraan I & Cliffjumper and Mark Whitten as Sideswipe & Skywarp. The series is now available on Netflix.