The Tragic Hidden Story Of Yoda And Dooku's Relationship
One of the main themes that has been a part of the Star Wars universe since the beginning has been redemption. One of the major Star Wars plot points are the journeys of the characters toward or from the dark side. From Darth Vader’s redemption arc from the dark side to the light side in the original Star Wars, to Kylo Ren’s redemption arc from the dark side to the light side in the sequel trilogy, and even in The Clone Wars animated series Asajj Ventress changed from the dark side to the light side before the end.
Unfortunately, there are characters who don’t have a redemption arc, which can be very realistic. Not everyone changes before the end and gives up something that they believe. One of these characters is Count Dooku. Jedi Master Yoda was never able to bring his former Padawan Count Dooku back from the darkness. And this makes their relationship one of the most tragic stories in all of Star Wars.
Count Dooku’s story sadly began much like it ended. His story is detailed in the 2019 audio drama Dooku: Jedi Lost. Count Dooku was born on the world Serenno and was the son of the planet’s rulers Count Gora and Countess Anya. Count Dooku’s ancestors had retaken their world after defeating members of the Sith Empire that had once controlled it. When Count Gora finds out that his son, Dooku, is Force-sensitive, he practically demands the Jedi Order to take Dooku away at a very young age because he is so terrified of the Force due to their world’s history with the Sith. Count Gora was so terrified of his son that he cruelly left him for dead in Serenno’s wilderness while waiting for the Jedi’s arrival. The Jedi did finally arrive and take Dooku with them to the Jedi Temple to train.
Dooku was fairly lonely as a Jedi youngling due in part to his regal manner and determination to excel beyond his peers. He only had one real close friend with fellow youngling Sifo-Dyas. He also had some friends among the Jedi Masters, especially Yoda.
Dooku became fascinated with Jedi Lene Kostana and her quest to recover relics connected to the dark side, and he aspired to be her Padawan. It was not to be, however. Even though Dooku defeated Sifo-Dyas in the lightsaber tournament, Jedi Lene Kostana still chose Sifo-Dyas to be her Padawan, much to Dooku’s disappointment.
However, it worked to his advantage, because Yoda decided to make him his Padawan. They went on a variety of training missions together across the galaxy. Dooku attained the rank of Jedi Master and secured a spot on the Jedi High Council. However, he soon became disillusioned with the Jedi, believing that they had become much too tolerant of political corruption within the Galactic Republic. This, unfortunately, led to his leaving the order, and a little later, becoming an apprentice to the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who recognized that he could use Dooku’s frustration with the Republic to his advantage.
The Jedi High Council and Yoda were hesitant to denounce Dooku as a Jedi Master when he re-emerged as the leader of the Separatist movement. They believed that he was just a political idealist. However, that quickly changed when they found out that Dooku had aligned himself with the Trade Federation and began amassing his droid army to target the Republic. When Yoda, the Jedi, and the Republic’s newfound clone confronted Dooku on Geonosis, which would later be known as the First Battle of Geonosis as seen in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Yoda was forced to battle his former Padawan in a lightsaber duel. Yoda realized that Count Dooku had joined the dark side.
Despite everything, Yoda still refused to give up on his old apprentice. In the short story “Sharing the Same Face,” a canon novelization of The Clone Wars episode “Ambush” from the 2020 anthology book The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark, it is revealed that Yoda undertook a secret mission to meet the Toydarian King Katuunko hoping that it would lead him to an encounter with Count Dooku. Yoda also believed that there was a way to bring Dooku back to the light side, ending the war “without further misery and ruin.”
Sadly, the meeting never happened, and the Clone Wars went on for years. In the 2015 book Dark Disciple, the Jedi became so desperate that they sent one of their own, Quinlan Vos, to try to assassinate Dooku so that the Clone Wars would end.
In the end, Yoda was not able to save Count Dooku. Who knows what would have happened if fate brought the pair together during the war, especially early on? But their bond remained forever shattered, and Count Dooku never left the dark side to come back to his former master.
Source(s): CBR