Reasons Why Dooku Wasn't Really A Sith

Dooku Was In It For Himself

By Culture SlatePublished 2 years ago • 3 min read

Dooku of Serenno had several titles—Padawan, Apprentice, Count, Lord, Master, and eventually Darth. Born into the ruling family of Serenno, Dooku had a privileged, yet difficult, childhood. His Force abilities were considered a curse by his father, Count Gora. Dooku’s mother, Countess Anya, reluctantly abandoned Dooku, only for him to be found by a Jedi Seeker. Dooku grew up proud under the tutelage of Jedi Master Tera Sinube, constantly pushing himself to be the best. But, in the end, that drive would cost him his life.

Count Dooku joined the ranks of the Lost Twenty when he left the Jedi Order prior to the death of his apprentice, Qui-Gon Jinn. The Order’s arrogance and unwillingness to see beyond their dogmatic ways wore on Dooku. He saw a different future for the galaxy, one ruled by order and justice, an order only the Sith could produce. But did joining the Sith make Dooku a Sith Lord? Not necessarily.

Though Dooku had evil qualities (some could argue that he merely was strong-willed and knew what he wanted), he was never driven by anger (maybe he was a little annoyed), fear, or hatred. On more than one occasion, he even offered his hand to Obi-Wan and told him outright who the Sith Lord was that the Jedi have been searching for. Bottom line, Dooku never considered himself a Sith. And he wasn’t; he was a man looking to change the galaxy in a way the Jedi were unwilling to try. And that is why he joined the Sith and became Darth Sidious’ apprentice, Darth Tyrannus.

When Dooku became Sidious’s apprentice, he was already an elderly man. The day when he overthrows Sidious to become the master was never coming. Dooku knew that, and Sidious knew that. The apprentice challenging and ultimately destroying their master defines what being a Sith is all about. Dooku never had such aspirations to choke on.

He did, however, have an apprentice of his own in Asajj Ventress. What does that mean for Sidious? Was he training Ventress so she could join Dooku in destroying Sidious? According to Dooku, this was not the case. But Sidious demanded loyalty and ordered Dooku to kill Ventress. So does this mean Sidious thought Dooku was a Sith? Wouldn’t Sidious know? Did it matter to Sidious? Maybe not, his sights were set on Anakin Skywalker anyway. Dooku was just a placeholder until the real apprentice was ready.

So why did Dooku join Sidious? For a mutually beneficial relationship. The Sith were a means to an end for Dooku—a way to fix a broken galaxy by any means necessary. In Age of Republic: Count Dooku, Darth Sidious sent Dooku to Sullust to schmooze with the Kap Klyp, the representative from the Sorosuub Corporation. The real reason was for Dooku to meet with a criminal syndicate and hire them to work for Sidious.

Dooku understands that he is there to do his master’s bidding, “He has plans for this world. For the whole galaxy. And I will be the one to help execute those plans.” Further supporting the idea that Dooku wasn’t in it for the Sith, he wanted things to change and figured Sidious was the one to help him make it happen.

Perhaps Dooku never fully understood what it took to be a Sith. By the time Anakin had his blades around Dooku’s neck, it was much too late. The look of shock when Palpatine orders his death is proof Dooku never expected his master to betray him—an attribute common in Sith teachings. Some might argue that Dooku even thought of Obi-Wan as a grandson. Maybe that’s true to some extent, but in the end, Dooku was a man on a mission—he chose to do a deal with the devil, and the devil always gets what they want. Besides, Dooku never had Sith eyes!

Source(s): CBR, Age of Republic: Count Dooku

Written by Eric Onkenhout

Syndicated from Culture Slate

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