Trio
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Taking into account everything canon tells us about them, it is probably safe to describe Starscream and Megatron's relationship as abusive. They generally have no qualms about bawling each other out, going behind the other's back, or shooting each other in the face (or other body parts). What are the reasons for this kind of violence? We've seen that they have been off to a (relatively) good start, and they could, in all probability, make one hell of a team if they just got it together. What went wrong in this partnership?
My impression is that the reasons for this dysfunction are complex and interconnected in various ways, but that they can be broken down into a number of keywords which may help us to get an overall perspective of the situation. One of those keywords is "control".
It's a distinctive mark of Capricorn people that they want to be in charge of things. In particular, they want to be the strong partner in their relationships. It's not a sadistic streak; it rather stems from their deep-seated desire for safety and predictability that is typical for Earth signs. Given that Megatron is supreme commander of an entire army in a civil war, the fact that exercising firm control comes naturally to him is definitely a plus. The problem starts when Starscream comes into the picture.
Scorpios are control freaks as well. Their reasons are different, and have mostly to do with their sense of pride (more about that later). But a Scorpio person desires to be in control just as much as the next Capricorn. The result is that we get to watch our two topmost Decepticons constantly power-struggle over who is in charge of what. It starts with Starscream claiming leadership every time Megatron so much as stubs his toe cap, and ends with Megatron trapping his Second in an energy cage, thus physically disabling him from taking part in an important mission (The Transformers ep. 26, "Enter the Nightbird"). It certainly makes for viewer entertainment (and for a cool scene of Starscream showing off his marksmanship), but obviously not for a harmonic partnership.
The Capricorn compulsion to be at the helm of things is aided by the Virgo trait of making plans for anything and everything in their lives. Virgos love manuals, both literally and figuratively. Taking their handbook away will leave a very unhappy Virgo behind. The various Transformers continuities seem to agree that Megatron is a huge fan of elaborate battle plans and extravagant superweapons. He's perfectly capable of improvising (like spontaneously collaborating with the Autobots to achieve a common goal [The Transformers ep. 28, "The Core"]), but he does tend to (temporarily) abort the mission in question if things deviate from what he planned.
Now this is not what Starscream has bargained for. Aries people demand perfection in all things. The noble knight cannot be seen walking around with rust spots on his shining armor or - worse - committed to a flawed cause. Megatron promised total domination of the universe, and now he fricking better deliver it, complete with glitter and a purple bow on top. Anything less is unacceptable and will be complained about most vehemently and not necessarily in private. Sound familiar?
A second keyword we may want to consider is "suspicion". Both Scorpios and Capricorns have a tendency to focus on the worst of two possible outcomes. From both their perspectives, it makes a certain amount of sense. Capricorn, the frugal mountain goat, knows all too well that the lush summer will be followed by the bleak and often harsh winter. They will not allow themselves to be distracted too much by the fair season and will instead focus their energies on preparing for and surviving the oncoming time of need. Scorpio people, who share their fellow water signs' ability to easily pick up the emotional undercurrents surrounding them, are especially sensitive to everything people like to hide in everyday life: their fears, vices, and all the unpleasant little things we are capable of thinking and feeling. It may be a heritage of their second ruling planet, Pluto, the ancient god of the Underworld. Consequently, most Scorpios are aware of a fundamental truth about humankind: We all have a dark side to us. Evil is not an abstract concept, it is real and present in every single one of us. And since everybody has the potential to turn into a "bad guy", Scorpios have to protect themselves by not trusting too deeply in anyone's good intentions. It doesn't exactly help matters that most Scorpios grapple with a deep-rooted, almost pathological jealousy. They tend to regard their partner as their "property", so of course they should have total control over them. It takes time, patience, and the proverbial thick skin to teach them that people aren't items that can be owned.
Both survival and protection are valid and comprehensible instincts. But if they become too prominent, you run the risk of ending up in a relationship where the partners are so focused on what can go wrong between them that they lose sight of all the things that could go right. I hazard a guess that the fact that Megatron and Starscream spend so much time pointing out each other's flaws and inadequacies stems from the clash of two personalities who are acting out their trust issues a bit too assiduously.
A matter that I personally find interesting is that of the vehemence with which Megatron often reacts to Starscream's criticism. Even when it's perfectly clear that his Second is simply out to goad him, more often than not he will take the bait and get into fights that are - at best - time‑consuming and nerve-racking. Shouldn't Megatron, who perceives himself as the wiser and more grown-up of the pair (see below) react in a more level-headed way? He can't seriously be dumb enough to not see through the game.
Frankly, I wouldn't put it past Megatron to simply play along for his personal amusement, and given that he likes to make jokes at Starscream's expense, a part of him probably does. The other part is most certainly the Capricorn in him that is extremely sensitive to what others think about him. It's one of the essential contradictions that form the basis of a Capricorn's character: They are passionate individualists, but long for the security and structure that being part of a larger group has to offer, and are deadly afraid that "wrong behavior" might cause the group to reject them. The desire to be part of a group is fueled by Virgo's aspiration to be needed and useful to the people around them. This trait is more prominent in Virgo people than in most other zodiac signs, and should not be underestimated. Detractors have gone so far as to call Virgos the "service providers" of the zodiac.
Megatron would surely laugh off the notion that a snotty little Seeker might pose a threat to him of any kind. And yet, apart from Optimus Prime, Starscream is the only one with the chutzpah to not only tell Megatron that he's wrong, but to also publically proclaim that he himself could do better. Consciously, Megatron may not believe those claims, but it's possible that he feels threatened by such behavior on a subconscious level, one that goes much deeper than the simple question of who should be leader of the Decepticons.
And it's also totally possible that Starscream knows or at least senses this and uses it as a weapon. This will become important in a minute.
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All of the above boils down to a fundamental truth I believe both Megatron and Starscream are very aware of: They are not on an equal footing in this relationship. And I'm not talking about military ranks. If you have followed the dynamics of their relationship through the years, it is easy to get the impression that Megatron is trying to "train" Starscream to fit into the grand design of his new world order (see part one). And in my opinion, that's exactly the case. Megatron's behavior towards Starscream seems to stem from one of his zodiac sign's baseline characteristics: the father-son dynamic.
To better understand this, we need to take a closer look at the Capricorn's ruling planet, Saturn, and its attributes. Even in ancient Roman mythology, the god Saturn seems to have had difficult familial relationships. He is described as arriving in Italy as a fugitive after having killed his father, and is said to have murdered and devoured his own children to prevent them from dethroning him. Like their namesake, the life of most Capricorns is affected by the "father" archetype. This can take many forms. Some young Capricorns idolize their father figure so much that they will forever - in their opinion - fall short of him. Others perceive him as a restrictive force, preventing them from fully applying their own abilities. In one way or another, the young Capricorn spends a great deal of time rebelling against their father.
If we interpret the "father" archetype in a more figurative sense that allows us to equate it with "the State"* or "the System", then Megatron undoubtedly falls into the second category. Starting out as a plain citizen, he soon dedicated his life to opposing a government and a social system which repressed and victimized him and abridged his rights (The Transformers: "Megatron Origin"). His resolve to break that symbolic father's hold became such a dominating part of his character that he managed to take half of Cybertron's populace into the fight with him.
For most Capricorns, the strong influence of Saturn will also make itself known to the effect that they themselves will take over the father role in their relationships, mostly in the later stages of their lives. We have established that Capricorns tend to seek out partners who are more spontaneous and emotionally outgoing than themselves. Unfortunately, those are also the partners with whom they are most likely to adopt the "strict parent" role. No matter how much such extroversion fascinates them, there's this little voice in every Capricorn's head, telling them that such behavior is irrational and childish and that they have to assume responsibility for the partnership by being the guiding parental figure their poor partner obviously needs. It can take them a long time to understand that by doing so, they stifle the very thing that defines their partner.
More acquiescent characters like Cancer or Pisces people may tolerate such an imbalance of power, at least for a while. But not the Scorpio. Ruled by Mars and Pluto, both the epitomes of independence even in the old myths, the Scorpio's passionate individuality surpasses even that of the Capricorn. Their alleged untamed pride is a very real thing; Scorpios would rather set the world on fire than bow to another's will. We have seen Starscream do exactly that in The Transformers ep. 14, "Countdown to Extinction". He's willing to destroy an entire planet (with some of his comrades on it) to gain power that will help him cement his new status - or so he believes - as Decepticon leader. His ascendant probably even compounds this attitude. Aries, the headstrong visionary, generally has a hard time understanding that other people may not share his or her sentiments, and so things like compromise and cooperation don't exactly come naturally to them.
Starscream's pushback reaction naturally has to spark a counterreaction. The way I see it, this counterreaction consists of stinging Shadow Capricorn into action.
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Every zodiac sign has its flip side; its shadow, so to speak. For Capricorns, those pragmatic planners of their own fate, this shadow can be summarized in yet another key word: fanaticism.
A Capricorn acting out this dark side is no longer content to take only his or her own fate into their hands. No, the fate of the whole world is awaiting their guiding hand, to be modeled according to their ideas. Opposition will be silenced - by any means necessary. There's no place for dissidents. "Peace through tyranny" is Megatron's motto (see his official bio), and that is a very accurate description of what Shadow Capricorn attempts to achieve. It's a rather extreme shadow, which isn't surprising given that Capricorn is, in itself, a very strong-minded sign. And Megatron in particular has to deal with the augmenting factor of his ascendant's darker side.
It's justifiable to call Shadow Virgo a know-it-all. For this passionate categorizer, having to admit that they may have analyzed a person or situation incorrectly is a disaster beyond all expectations. "I told you so" is a sentence you will often hear if you did not listen to a Virgo's advice. It's their way of reassuring themselves that they would have done better, and that need, in turn, stems from their deep-seated fear of not being useful enough to their fellows. It's not unusual for a Virgo to falsely accuse others and to stubbornly stick to their opinion long after they've been proven wrong. I find The Transformers ep. 10, "War of the Dinobots" especially telling in this context: Megatron has been told twice, by two different people, that the meteorite is dangerously unstable and should not be tampered with. And while this could be an attempt to deceive him, what are the chances that both Starscream and Optimus Prime came up with the same lie at the same time? Still, Megatron sticks with his original plan - and it results in chaos.
It's worth considering that part of Megatron's stubbornness may stem from irritation at Starscream's habit of weighing in with his opinion. It is, of course, a Second in Command's job to offer advice, not to mention that Starscream regularly risks his life for Megatron, so keeping his arguments to himself is often a luxury he simply can't afford. On the surface, the fact that Megatron is barely - if at all - inclined to listen can be easily explained by Shadow Capricorn's disdain for everything that doesn't match their worldview. However, the way Starscream offers advice may be of importance here. Very often when he speaks up, his tone of voice seems to convey a barely disguised "Why the frag are you so dumb that I have to tell you this totally logical thing?!" (e.g., in The Transformers ep. 28, "The Core", when he explains to Megatron the risks of breaching the Earth's core, he sounds extremely impatient and irritated to me). It could be due to his Aries characteristics shining through. Aries people are among the most helpful you can find. The noble knight will not hesitate to come to the aid of a damsel in distress. The downside is that the damsel may not consider herself in distress at all, and may not want someone to interfere in her affairs. It's often hard for our knight to recognize if, and when, this is the case. Sometimes you have to literally club him on the head to make him see it, and more often than not he will interpret this as a personal rejection and be deeply hurt. Given that Starscream makes this experience with Megatron on a daily basis (and often uncalled-for), his frustration with his leader is absolutely justified. But Megatron reacts to such "unruly" behavior with his usual "no backtalk allowed" policy, causing the cycle to start anew.
All in all, Starscream has to put up with quite a lot in his dealings with Megatron, and he reacts in a typical Scorpio way. As described above, Scorpios are uncannily good at uncovering other people's fears and weaknesses. That's not necessarily a bad thing, for in a healthy relationship, it can provide you with the most understanding and supportive partner you could wish for. But Starscream has every reason to want to get back at Megatron for all the hurts and insults he experiences in their daily tit-for-tat, and that causes one of the darker aspects of his Scorpio traits to surface: the long memory for every hurt or affront received, and the unquenchable thirst for revenge for such insults. No Scorpio will forget when they've been betrayed or ridiculed, nor will they easily forgive such a thing - if at all. Like all water signs, Scorpios are extremely sensitive to criticism, and especially to emotional coldness. Arrogance and disinterest will get you nowhere when dealing with a Scorpio - except to the point where they'll strike back. Then the perpetrator will make the acquaintance of the poisonous sting, and that sting comes in the form of all those ugly little truths the Scorpio has learned about their opponent, and that will be used mercilessly to cut as deeply as possible. In extreme cases, it doesn't even matter if said opponent really meant to do harm, or if everything was just an honest mistake. "You do the crime, you do the time" is the Scorpio's motto, and Shadow Scorpio knows how to ignore his fellow people's viewpoint like few others.
In summary, it is my opinion that the relationship between Starscream and Megatron seems to be a classic vicious cycle, one that they can't manage to escape. The question is: Do they want to?
* Trivia: My native language, German, knows the phrase "Vater Staat" (Father State; often used sarcastically) for a paternalistic government.