One new Star Wars detail finally makes sense of Count Dooku‘s character arc, explaining all the many inconsistencies and oddities. There’s always been something so compelling about the tragedy of Count Dooku, the fallen Jedi who became a Sith and was ultimately betrayed by Palpatine. Part of the attraction of Dooku undoubtedly lies in the incredible performance by Christopher Lee, who really was perfectly cast. Unfortunately, as enjoyable a character as Dooku may be, I’ve always had so many questions about his arc.

The problems begin in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, when Dooku tries to persuade Obi-Wan Kenobi to join him. This always seemed strange, especially given Dooku went so far as to tell Obi-Wan that the Senate was controlled by a Sith Lord – risking exposing Palpatine if he’d been believed. Modern Star Wars can’t decide whether Dooku knew about order 66 or not (still less whether he approved), which suggests I’m not the only one who finds Dooku tricky. But one new Star Wars detail finally makes sense of his arc, and even explains all these inconsistencies.

Count Dooku Was Obsessed With The Past… & Always Open To The Dark Side

His lightsaber is a massive clue

You may have noticed Count Dooku has a rather unusual lightsaber type – a blade with a curved hilt. This looks cool, but it’s also important; it’s because he was trained the lightsaber form named Makashi, one of the oldest forms, focused on lightsaber dueling. Makashi was out of fashion by the time of the prequels, but I’d tended to take Dooku’s interest in Makashi as a pointer to his competitive nature. A new detail in Star Wars: The High Republic – The Lightsaber Collection suggests there was another reason, though; apparently the curved hilt itself was an ancient and neglected design.

This new detail meshes well with Cavan Scott’s fantastic audiobook Dooku: Jedi Lost, which serves as the Count’s origin story but cuts off before his fall to the dark side. One scene sees Dooku meditate using what is apparently an ancient Jedi mantra, one suggesting the ancient Jedi considered balance an aspect of the Force – and were open to light, dark, and balance too.

“We call upon the three — light, dark, and balance true. One is no greater than the others. Together, they unite, restore, center, and renew. We walk into the light, acknowledge the dark, and find balance within ourselves. The Force is strong.”

Putting all these pieces together, I’m wondering whether Dooku was driven by nostalgia first and foremost – a belief the Jedi had lost their way long ago. There’s abundant evidence that was true, because the Jedi became too closely tied to the Republic and its internal politics. But did Dooku look even further back, to a time when the Jedi used both the light and dark sides of the Force? That would explain his focusing on an older lightsaber form that stresses dominance, his antiquated hilt, and even why the respected Jedi Master became open to the dark side.

Did Dooku Think He Was Destroying The Jedi… Or Reforming Them?

Did Dooku even believe he’d stopped being a Jedi?

This idea raises another intriguing possibility: Did Dooku believe the Clone Wars would destroy the Jedi, or did he rather think they would be refined in the fires of war? There’s actually some considerable evidence Dooku believed he was going to reform the Jedi, not destroy them. After all, he considered the deaths of Qui-Gon and Yaddle to be a waste in Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, which would be rather odd if he thought he’d just finished setting up Order 66 at that point in the timeline.

Dooku actually had three acolytes by the time of Attack of the Clones – at least as far as Legends is concerned. Certainly Darth Tyranus appears to have already recruited Asajj Ventress by then, and he doesn’t seem to have considered doing so to cause an imbalance in the Rule of Two. Ventress called herself a Sith in Genndy Tartakovsky’s Legends Clone Wars micro-series, but Dooku insisted she was actually something else; he never called her a Sith in canon. Is it possible this is because he saw Asajj as the beginning of a reformed Jedi Order, rather than a Sith?

This Finally Makes Sense Of Dooku’s Obi-Wan Kenobi Temptation In Attack Of The Clones

The strangest dialogue finally makes sense

This has the virtue of finally explaining why Dooku told Obi-Wan Kenobi so much during Attack of the Clones. Dooku makes a surprising appeal to persuade Obi-Wan to join him, and goes so far as to tell his prisoner that the Republic and the Senate is under the control of a Dark Lord of the Sith. “Hundreds of senators are now under the influence of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious,” he reveals. Dooku is risking everything if his words were believed, so it never really made any sense to me.

Now, though, I’m left considering the possibility that Dooku really did hope Obi-Wan would side with him against the Sith – and, indeed, that Obi-Wan would be just the first of the Jedi to do so. If I’m right, Dooku wanted to play the Jedi and the Sith against one another, destroying Palpatine and providing himself with the perfect opportunity to reform the Jedi. It’s an explanation that fits surprisingly well with the scenes in themselves.

Was Asajj Ventress’ Death The Moment Dooku Finally Committed To The Sith?

It’s a more important moment for Dooku than I thought

If I’m right, the sad truth is that Dooku’s dreams of reforming the Jedi were shattered. Obi-Wan rejected his overtures, and there was no Jedi schism; rather, Dooku was left simply with Ventress, the only one willing to train under him. It is now that Palpatine comes to Dooku in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode “Nightsisters,” warning him against training what Sidious considers a “Sith Apprentice.” He commands Dooku to prove his loyalty to the Sith by killing Ventress – by giving up on his dreams of a Jedi reformation. Dooku does so, fully committing to the Sith.

I’ve always considered this a turning point for Ventress, but this new perspective suggests it was one for Dooku as well. This was the moment he gave up on the Jedi altogether, consumed forever by the dark side. Afterward, in season 4’s “Slaves of the Republic” arc, Dooku tells the Zygerrian Queen that he wants to destroy the Jedi. He’s fully committed to Order 66 by The Clone Wars season 6, when he helps Palpatine cover up a misfiring inhibitor chip before it exposes the Sith plans. The apparent inconsistencies in Dooku’s story are resolved, transformed into a character arc.

I don’t know for sure that all these details were intentional on Lucasfilm’s part. I do know that this interpretation works incredibly well, giving Dooku a consistent story of his own that is ripe for further exploration. Even better, there’s something quite symbolic about nostalgia as the driving motivation of a Sith – coming at a time when Star Wars has embraced nostalgia a little too much. It’s a beautifully ironic interpretation, one that adds so much depth to Count Dooku’s lore.