More than two decades after Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, one surprising Star Wars story has made Count Dooku one of the best Sith in Star Wars movies and TV shows. Count Dooku (or Darth Tyranus) isn’t exactly high on the list of Star Wars’ most powerful Sith, but he has been a compelling villain since he made his debut on the Star Wars screen in Attack of the Clones. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: The Clone Wars only made him that much more interesting.

In the former, Dooku was revealed to be no less a pawn in Palpatine’s game than anyone else, even as a Sith Lord, and in the latter, his considerable role in the Clone Wars became clearer. Yet, neither show is why Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus has become a much more important Sith in Star Wars. It wasn’t until Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi that Count Dooku’s role as one of Star Wars’ greatest Sith was confirmed.

Tales Of The Jedi Revealed More About Dooku’s Turn To The Dark Side

Tales Of The Jedi Provided New Insight Into How And Why Dooku Fell

Dooku was one of two Jedi featured in Tales of the Jedi, the other being Ahsoka Tano. Each character had their own three-episode arc, which, in Dooku’s case, provided additional context for the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Given Dooku was absent from that movie, and a full decade pᴀsses between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, this offered critical new insight into how Dooku went from a respected Jedi to Palpatine’s newest Sith apprentice.

This story ended up being quite a bit more emotional and nuanced than expected. Seeds of doubt had clearly already been planted in Dooku’s mind before The Phantom Menace. Yet, Tales of the Jedi revealed that a major factor in Dooku’s turn away from the Jedi was due to the Jedi Council’s response when Qui-Gon Jinn informed them he’d encountered what he believed to be a Sith Lord. The Council expressed incredulity at the possibility, and, in Dooku’s mind, they failed to act.

It was this lack of action, Dooku believed, that took the life of his former Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn. Dooku was unquestionably a self-serving and deceptive figure throughout the prequel trilogy, but it was evident that Dooku genuinely had an affection for Qui-Gon. Because of that, when Dooku blamed the Jedi for Qui-Gon’s death, it was enough for him to turn away from the Jedi.

Tales of the Jedi confirmed that this was more than just a sudden shift, though. Rather, even after it was clear Dooku was committing to Palpatine and abandoning his Jedi path, he didn’t want to kill Master Yaddle. This moment shockingly made Dooku seem so much more sympathetic—something that was never true of Dooku before.

Dooku’s Attachment To Qui-Gon Jinn Is Reminiscent Of Anakin’s Fall

Dooku Genuinely Cared For Qui-Gon

One of the most significant shifts in Dooku’s story introduced in Tales of the Jedi was the sense that he, like Anakin Skywalker, had in part fallen because of his attachments. Although that arc looked different for Dooku than it did for Anakin, it was Dooku’s connection to Qui-Gon that made him finally turn his back on the Jedi and embrace the dark side. He was (arguably, rightfully) angry that the Jedi Council hadn’t done more in light of Qui-Gon’s news that the Sith had re-emerged.

He also proved to have a paternal affection for Qui-Gon that wasn’t dissimilar to how Obi-Wan Kenobi ultimately felt about Anakin. That is why, after Qui-Gon’s death, Dooku returned to the tree that Qui-Gon had loved as a boy. He was genuinely devastated by Qui-Gon’s loss, and, as Star Wars has shown time and again, loss is more than enough to push someone onto the path to the dark side.

These factors, along with Dooku’s hesitation to kill Yaddle and then seeming sadness at having to do so, humanized him so much more. Prior to this update to Dooku’s story in Tales of the Jedi, Dooku was barely sympathetic. He seemed like a callous, egotistical Sith and little more, especially in Attack of the Clones. While Tales of the Jedi didn’t completely rewrite that—he’s still callous and egotistical—it did shed a new light on his story.

Dooku Wasn’t Entirely Wrong About The Jedi

The Jedi Council’s Hesitation To Act Was A Major Problem

What makes this Count Dooku story all the more complicated is the fact that Count Dooku wasn’t entirely wrong about the Jedi. He was angry at their hesitance to act, and that would continue to define the Jedi until their downfall. Obviously, this had direct and unfortunate implications for Qui-Gon, but even beyond that, this initial skepticism about the return of the Sith and arguably cautious response were both indicative of how the Jedi would respond to threats throughout Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

In fact, one of the best examples of this also pertained to Dooku. When Padmé Amidala’s life was being threatened by a mysterious ᴀssᴀssin, Padmé herself said she suspected Dooku—who was indeed behind the attacks. Yet, the Jedi were blind to this possibility, oddly insisting that because Dooku had once been a Jedi, it wasn’t in his nature to kill (despite Dooku being far from the first fallen Jedi). Presumably, Dooku was in part exploiting the very behavior he’d seen from the Jedi in Tales of the Jedi, which worked in his favor.

This isn’t to say that Dooku was in the right. He was guilty of many egregious crimes, and he certainly wasn’t sympathetic or complex enough to be considered an anti-hero. Even so, it’s true that some of his criticisms of the Jedi were accurate.

Dooku Wanted To Reform, Not Destroy, The Jedi

Dooku’s Attempted Recruitment Of Obi-Wan Was Telling

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this larger narrative arc is Count Dooku’s attempt to recruit Obi-Wan in Attack of the Clones. In that movie, it wasn’t entirely clear what game Dooku was playing. With next to no background on Dooku at that point, he seemed like an out-and-out villain who was most likely to be lying to Obi-Wan.

Revenge of the Sith confirmed that Dooku had actually been telling the truth, though, and had curiously revealed much of Palpatine’s plan to Obi-Wan in this scene. There’s plenty of speculation regarding why Dooku would take such a risk, especially given Obi-Wan was very unlikely to turn to the dark side, but the answer seems to be two-fold, based on Tales of the Jedi. On the one hand, as Qui-Gon’s former Jedi Padawan, Obi-Wan had some significance to Dooku, even if it wasn’t close to what Qui-Gon had meant.

More significantly, Count Dooku seemed to genuinely want to reform—not destroy—the Jedi. Just as was made clear in Tales of the Jedi, Dooku’s true feelings about the Jedi were complicated. He certainly believed the Jedi were flawed and had failed in many ways, including by ‘allowing’ Qui-Gon to die, but he considered Yaddle’s death a waste, suggesting he didn’t believe the solution was absolute destruction of the Jedi, at least at first.

While Dooku may not ever be as popular as the likes of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, Tales of the Jedi certainly made him a much more compelling character and a better Sith. In the movies alone, Dooku actually has very little screen time. However, shows like Tales of the Jedi and The Clone Wars have provided so much more insight into Count Dooku’s history, improving his story even 23 years after Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.