Why Dooku Was so WEAK In Revenge of the Sith - Star Wars Explained

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[@MatthewJamesKalasky]

I never looked at it as Dooku being weak, but Anakin simply having improved a very large amount.

[@corysanderson6177]

dooku also wasnt trying to win, he was in on the plan to use anakin

[@TwiceStruck]

Exactly, plan was for him to get arrested, brought before the Senate put the blame on Grevious for the Clone Wars, losing was key, just not an easy lost, plus him killing Obie Wan, he simply couldn't kill his Student's Padawan.

[@TheFrozenOne97]

@@corysanderson6177wrong

[@TheFrozenOne97]

@@TwiceStruckPalpatine said it’s a test that and Dooku won’t hold back

[@Kinosis79]

Yeah, he still beat obi-wan in like 3 seconds lol

[@TypicalidiotGuy]

The dark side does take a physical and mental toll as a trade off for power and it stands to reason that price is higher when nature is also zapping your strength

[@Whendeesle]

The equivalent of steroids lol

[@TypicalidiotGuy]

@@Whendeesle lol nothing like force steroid shot in the dark side

[@cookie6627]

So why did palpatine seem to get more wise?

[@jorgemaiz7624]

Dooku grew stronger. He went from earning a draw in AOTC, where Yoda had the edge, to beating Yoda two years later on Tatooine. He more dominated Obi-Wan and Anakin on Obi Dia than he did in AOTC despite both of them growing immensely in power.

[@hawk66100]

Yes.

[@aster4jaden]

I just want a full Dooku Series.

[@toastedtarts4044]

Me too. Hopefully they make the story good

[@moumouhdabdaidi9931]

I hope Disney doesn’t just exploit the story of Dooku in Tales of the Jedi, otherwise they would ruin a great character

[@gregphillips2827]

Who could possibly play him with the great Christopher Lee gone?

[@moumouhdabdaidi9931]

@@gregphillips2827 a Dooku series will mostly explore his younger years, so no need for Christopher Lee. All Dooku scenes when he was old are mostly already in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith

[@Murphdog.Brewing.Company]

@@gregphillips2827Justin Bieber. Just ask that moron Seth Green, he wants Bieber in everything

[@macleod1592]

I love Dooku. He is such a fascinating character and I'm glad The Clone Wars expanded on his story.

[@countdooku2365]

I love you too.

[@Transilvanian90]

My issue with the Clone Wars is that it's too much shoehorned in between Episodes II and III. A bunch of encounters and duels and stuff that's heavily implied not to exist in the films. It goes from simple storytelling into filler. Much like the Obi-Wan series did more recently.

[@tronovonflidder775]

​@@Transilvanian90 Yeah, you could have cut a few of those encounters out completely to be honest. As good as TCW was, it wasted a huge opportunity to show us what other Jedi's were capable of. Plo Koon for example never got a single lightsaber duel. And Mace Windu only fought Mother Talzin in a rather underwhelming scuffle. Would have loved to have seen Mace Windu or Plo Koon vs Count Dooku. Maul or Quinlan Vos vs General Grievous. Aayla Secura or Shaak Ti vs Asajj Ventress, etc.

[@crystalbluepartain3434]

​@@tronovonflidder775it also makes it a little harder to believe that anakin never encountered grievous

[@crystalbluepartain3434]

or actually retcons him having not idr

[@callumwebb4927]

As Rocky Balboa once said: “Time takes everybody out. It’s undefeated” Dooku was one of the greatest Jedi and Sith of all time, and he could probably have cut through half the Jedi order like carving through butter, but his skill was eventually going to become meaningless against an opponent like Anakin, who had as good a skill at this point, and the benefit of youth.

[@Ryan-nh5kw]

Yeah Anakins stamina and physical stats were becoming way too overwhelming. Pair that with his skill and Dooku just had no chance

[@TypicalidiotGuy]

I think Dooku was under orders to lose to Anakin, drawing out his rage after losing before and hurting obi wan

[@dickeyseamus]

Great quote! Well said man.

[@williehardiman6766]

​@JeffReed-oy4ev idk about lose I always saw it as he was supposed to separate Anakin so Sidious could see how he had grown as a fighter but I don't think Dooku was trying to lose. I think Sidious knew (or at least suspected) that Anakin had grown past Dooku or at least was his match by that point.

[@offworlder1]

@@TypicalidiotGuyHe was meant to take a dive but then Obi-Wan and Anakin stopped playing around and actually beat him for real. Dooku was especially taken by surprise with how effective Anakin’s rage was and got soundly taken down. The issue was both Anakin and Obi-Wan’s skills grew a lot during the war and surpassed Dooku in their final battle. Instead of being taken prisoner as Palpatine told Dooku he instead tells Anakin to kill him, the shock very evident on Dooku’s face.

[@kidomniman8635]

Dooku wasn't slow in the movie because dooku was 83. Dooku was slow in the movie because Christopher Lee was 83. If Sir Christopher Lee was in his prime he would have beaten all the jedi easily and he could even beat count dooku if he wanted to play a double role. The guy was a legend.

[@mynameisnotlarry7149]

Well said

[@TrashPanda90914]

Yup. Crazy life too. Apparently, his cousin Ian Fleming based James Bond on him after his time as a ww2 nazi hunter. And the military society that he was part of, the Ministry of ungentlemanly warfare is about to get a movie starring Henry Cavill.

[@KazuyaVeranes]

Sir Christopher Lee was very proficient at fencing, so had he been younger it’s a guarantee he’d have done all his own stunts. Such a great guy, RIP.

[@kidomniman8635]

@@KazuyaVeranes had he been younger he also would have been cast as Gandalf. I couldn't imagine a better sarumon though so maybe that was for the best

[@matthewwithum8372]

​@@mynameisnotlarry7149What he said.

[@Charismaniac]

Dooku was always my favorite. He really made the main protagonists grow. He did extremely well and lasted surprisingly long given how many plot armored characters he went up against.

[@theInsaneCashew]

Lol that's a great point. He fought some of the franchise's most MAIN characters.

[@mrgotham3685]

He wasn’t weak, Anakin was rapidly growing in power and using the dark side threw him over the power edge. Clone Wars does a great job at showing the power gap slowly starting to close with each encounter.

[@sikkastanislas4530]

Exactly!! Each battle got closer

[@GentlemanGhost1]

"You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war." - Napoleon Anakin simply learnt from fighting Dooku many times. If Dooku were not compelled to leave Anakin alive so often, he would have ended Anakin.

[@Vet_Sniper21]

This actually makes sense. Throughout the clone wars, It was always Anakin vs Ventress or Anakin vs Dooku or Obi- Wan Vs Grievous. Dooku was running out of tricks while Anakin was improving and was deciphering all of Dooku's tactics.

[@slsbaconbits4012]

I always assumed it was a mixture of Dooku aging, Anakin becoming stronger, and Sidious empowering Anakin to best him.

[@modev4163]

This is Star Wars you can't make logical assumptions here😅

[@willcruikshank7972]

Sidious didn’t empower Anakin. That’s total headcanon. Anakin outright beat him proven by how close Anakin was beating him at the end of the Clone Wars show

[@modev4163]

@@willcruikshank7972 maybe not directly or through the dark side but Anakin was motivated to rescue him because in his mind he was captured

[@S0L12D3]

@@willcruikshank7972 palpatine told dooku to go easy on anakin in the fight because he wanted to see how powerful anakin was. Neither of them expected Anakin to outright overpower him! I’m not saying anakin wouldn’t have won anyways, I’m just saying that we know for a fact that dooku was not going full force

[@TheSilverwolf97]

@@S0L12D3 that doesn't make sense considering that Anakin has been proving himself time again in the Clone Wars at both the eyes of Dooku and Sidious. I would just put it into that Dooku never really embraced the Dark side, he was only using it, that may have put conflict within him that may have aged him faster. Also Anakin's form was a bad match for him when youth and power were on Anakin's side.

[@galacticgui2305]

You forgot to add that in season 4, episode 19 of The Clone Wars, Mother Talzin uses a lock of Count Dooku's hair in a magic spell to try and kill him from across the galaxy, the effects wracking his body with excruciating pain, boils and sores, etc... She almost succeeded too but her casting was interrupted before she could finish. I'm sure that left a lasting mark on him that added to his weakened state during his last fight with Anakin.

[@ralphealcoty1185]

He was instructed by Lord Sidious to not use all of his skill against Anakin for the entire Clone Wars leading up to ROTS. Dooku knew how much Sidious liked Anakin, but he didn’t know Anakin would be his replacement. It didn’t seem that Dooku’s power decreased imo.

[@thomaswest2583]

It always felt like Dooku had a lot of untapped potential. It's clear that Sidious withheld more advanced dark side training.

[@crownprincesebastianjohano7069]

Yeah, I disagree on this theory. Dooku wasn't weak in ROTS. In the preceding year there is ZERO indication that Dooku's age was catching up with him. The duel on Oba Dia was only several months before in late spring 19 BBY, not a year, and he had dominated Obi-Wan and Anakin (just because he spared them doesn't mean he didn't control the duel). From AOTC on we see Dooku growing in power based on his duels with Yoda. In the Duel on Vjun in early 20 BBY Dooku wounded Yoda and it took everything for Yoda to hold him back. In the Duel on Tatooine with Yoda in late 20 BBY Dooku actually got the upper hand on Yoda, disarmed and knocked him to the ground. And it is isn't just the duels with Yoda. On Ridley Dooku casually stalemated Windu, demonstrating that Vaapad was useless on him. The only oddity was the second duel with Vos and in that case it was a matter of his being wounded and Vos' chaotic saber style baffling Dooku. The reason why Anakin won in ROTS is because he simply overwhelmed Dooku. Anakin leveled up and with his combination of saber skill, strength and speed, hitherto never before see in a single person, Dooku had no answer and no time to adapt or withdraw to gather himself. Being steamrolled in fights by the unexpected is a thing. Dooku had no reason to believe Anakin could do what he did based off their prior confrontations.

[@GamingDrummer89]

I've heard about Vaapad not being effective against Dooku before...is that because he doesn't use a ferocious, dark-side fueled fighting style like Maul or Sidious or is it something else? Yeah, I know there's a chance Sidious could have blitzed Windu first thing and killed him in ROTS before he got a chance to get into Vaapad, but once he did, he was able to contend with Sidious, so on the surface it's a bit weird that it wouldn't work on a dark-side user who isn't quite as strong as Sidious. I'm also wondering what would happen if Windu used a different form against Dooku. They seem like they're pretty close in terms of power so I think that would be a more even fight if Windu strayed from Vaapad. What do you think?

[@crownprincesebastianjohano7069]

@@GamingDrummer89 I would agree that Vaapad doesn't work because of Dooku's discipline and selective use of the Dark Side. I think Mace could use Form V, but his Form is also effective against most without Vaapad. I don't think there is any single thing Mace can do to really put him over the top so to speak. One must recall Dooku has superior experience and Force Knowledge over Mace. But, I think in the end Dooku fares better than Sidious simply because Mace doesn't have a pronounced edge over him.

[@dreadrath]

Its worth noting that the hit Dooku scored on Yoda on Vjun was because Dooku hurled an old lady out of a window, forcing Yoda to leave himself vulnerable to save her, something Dooku used to score that glancing blow.

[@KosstAmojan]

@@GamingDrummer89 My understanding of Vaapad is that its strength in turning an opponent's power - more specifically, their darkness - against them. That means the more powerful the opponent, the stronger the form becomes. But that also means a weak opponent would leave the form weak. Since Dooku was only a few years in the Dark Side, it makes sense that Vaapad would have little to feed off of. Yes, Dooku had great power, but not great darkness. Normally this would boil a saber duel down to skill and, as a Master, Windu would have the upper hand. Most Sith acolytes would not have developed their skills or Force powers to the level necessary to defeat a Master, so Vaapad's weakness was not really an issue. Dooku was the exception. He had already developed his dueling ability to a level on par with a Master, so that weakness in the form was fully exposed. Dooku is arguably THE nightmare opponent for Vaapad. Just my two credits.

[@crownprincesebastianjohano7069]

@@dreadrath That was the first hit, the second hit was during the duel.

[@maximomartin2529]

From what I know, Palpatine told Dooku to make the fight easier towards Anakin in Revenge of the Sith, even though when Dooku was about to be executed, he realized Palpatine would betray him for a much young and more potential fighter.

[@davidm4566]

Exactly. Dooku was playing them trying to make Skywalker angry to bring him over to the darkside. He didn't realize how good Skywaljer had become and actually started trying until it was too late.

[@chadflanaganCFC]

I wouldn't say Dooku was weaker in revenge of the Sith not in the traditional sense, but if the novelization is the source material he was told by Palpatine to "take it easy on the young Skywalker." I believe this does a lot as he's having to hold back then by the time Anakin became too much to handle Dooku had exhausted himself too heavily to properly defend himself.

[@ronanwaring3408]

The novel also says that when they swiched styles on him he was constantly fighting for his life, so the "go easy" was thrown out the window, it's also why he threw kenobi he just couldn't handle the two of them but died soon after.

[@chadflanaganCFC]

That's what I mean though he was told to "go easy", and then at a drop of a hat was forced to go all out, but he had already made the fatal mistake of allowing Anakin to get his momentum that plus the fact he was channeling the dark side thinking two of the people valuable to him could be killed if he lost, and Dooku's already elderly status there was no way he was gonna keep up in a battle of attrition which the duel became.

[@danielturner1249]

Also to be fair, in my experience Age doesn't hit gradually in those years. My grandfather was shoveling snow, mowing lawns, and playing sports with adults in their prime at 93, but by 95 he couldn't get up the stairs without help. In the 80s and 90s, Age Strikes hard and fast.

[@timt6312]

Dooku wasnt weak at all. He was at his peak. Even being able to hold his own against not only anakin, the most powerful person in the world, but also obi wan at the same time. Thats extremely impressive

[@ThePalaeontologist]

At the end of the day, Dooku was incredibly powerful. It's easy to forget that we're basically seeing a ridiculously small percentage of only the very strongest Jedi like Yoda and Anakin, fighting him. Dooku was hilariously stronger than almost any other Jedi out of 10,000 or so around at the time of Order 66. Dooku VS just about anyone would win a lot of times in most playtest scenarios. There are like 5 Jedi with a credible chance against him, and one of them is 880 years old (Yoda), another is the literal Chosen One (Anakin), one is a Jedi Master almost as powerful as him (Windu) and just as skilled with a lightsaber, and the potential other two would only potentially achieve it through so kind of luck or endurance. The other two I have in mind would be Obi-Wan Kenobi and Plo Koon. There is basically nobody else. I considered Shaak Ti for a while but Dooku would completely outclass her with Makashi and simply prove too difficult. She struggled with General Grievous. Dooku would defeat her. Before becoming non-canon due to Disney shenanigans, Dooku's duel with Yoda on Vjun was very interesting because it showed how close the two really were. Dooku 'tagged' Yoda (scored his robes with his lightsaber) twice during the duel and although the two nearly killed each other a few times in turn, the point is, the former Master and apprentice duo were just as closely matched as say, Kenobi and Skywalker were at their height. Dooku being Yoda's direct apprentice should hint at just how good Dooku was. He gets considered the outclassed duellist in general, because of the events of Episode II where he necessarily flees Yoda on Geonosis after defeating Kenobi and Skywalker back to back. Even tired, he basically held Yoda to a standstill in a saber lock and then made his escape. That entire scene was George Lucas hyping Yoda using a lightsaber for the first time, so Dooku _had_ to play the sort of 'fall guy' to Yoda. To appear the eclipsed moustache twirling villain meeting his match. Though it should be fairly remembered that Dooku was aware if he stayed on Geonosis for a moment longer, he stood a very real chance of being captured by the Jedi on Day 1 of the Clone Wars. Day 1. Dooku had no need to even be there the only reason he fought Yoda at all was because he was delayed escaping by Anakin and Obi-Wan. And in a way, his own ego prevented him from putting either of them down as fast as he certainly could have if he really wanted to crush them. Dooku was actively playing with Kenobi and just drawing out their duel to test what he could do, to see what Qui-Gon's apprentice was made of. And he wasn't that impressed by his then lightsaber skills (which would improve dramatically across the Clone Wars) but he was impressed by his bravery and determination. Anakin's brash arrogance on the other hand was harshly punished by Dooku, when he literally and figuratively disarmed him after a tense encounter. Dooku was clearly far beyond either of them, though fighting them both at his advanced age did take it out of him. He was clearly tired out. Then he had to fight Yoda, whom had not drawn his lightsaber until this encounter that day. I honestly feel it's a shame the duel on Vjun is now non-canon. It not only did justice to _both_ very powerful masters of the force (and the lightsaber), but it was quite a well-written story which basically covered everything about the complex emotional dynamic between Yoda and Dooku. They had a lot of mutual respect in spite of obviously massive disagreements. It was more like a meeting of say, X-Men's Magneto and Xavier. It was more like old friends reunited, with Dooku being implored by Yoda to see the light and abandon the Sith. Dooku was on the verge of considering it before events beyond Yoda's control changed Dooku's mind, with him snapping back to dark side form and believing the entire thing was a charade to distract him, waste his time and either capture or assassinate him. Dooku then went absolutely ballistic (as far as such a smooth operator can) and he went all out against Yoda, very nearly killing him at least twice. It was probably one of the best off-screen duels ever in Star Wars Expanded Universe history, both in terms of the skill and power levels involved, and the intensity and emotion behind the duel. And it was basically a draw as they broke off and Dooku left. Yoda may well have won if it carried on, but the cool thing about that duel, is it was so close an argument can definitely be made for Dooku potentially killing Yoda like he killed Yaddle in Tales Of The Jedi. It could have gone that far. Oh well, then Disney came along and _Kathleen_ threw all this kind of stuff in the composting heap/recycling bin to pick remains from to rehash into the new Disney 'whamen be stronk' hell-timeline we're in now. Dooku and Yoda deserve an entire series explaining their backstory and operational missions together as Jedi. Back in the day, Dooku and Yoda were absolutely the dream team and if they showed up anywhere together, it'd be the fool of an opponent who'd try to fight them. Even Plagueis and Sidious, together, were slightly worried about Yoda and Dooku _together_ (individually, they could probably bring either down _together_ as a pair of Sith Lords working in tandem, but if Dooku and Yoda fought side by side, it'd be a nightmare and one or more of the Sith Lords might well be killed in action facing them) Dooku was 2nd in the entire Jedi Temple behind Yoda, and it was a close second at that. Prime years Dooku was on a potentially much more impressive level physically, as we've somewhat seen in Tales Of The Jedi. There, a similar example of a Dooku dream-team was shown, with Dooku and Windu fighting together. Their opposition never stood a chance against either of them alone, let alone the pair of them fighting as colleagues in unison. And yes, Dooku was slightly stronger in the Force than Windu (make to the displeasure of Windu fans, but it's just true; Dooku was genuinely the prodigy of his generation, as much as Anakin was the prodigy of his; though in fairness, Windu was probably the prodigy of the generation or two just after Dooku's, whereas Anakin was the prodigy aka top student of a few generations after Dooku's youthful years) If I were to put an estimate on where Dooku would stack up, he'd be about 90-95% as powerful in the Force as Yoda. More than strong enough to potentially be a serious opponent capable of killing him if things went that way. It's obviously harder for Dooku to kill Yoda than it is for Yoda to kill Dooku. But the Duel on Vjun and in fairness the Duel on Geonosis, between Dooku and Yoda, showed that Dooku was more than capable of fearlessly taking the fight to him. Again, this is somewhat tonally undermined by the fact Dooku 'ran away' at the end of the Duel on Geonosis, but when contextualised fairly, that fight wasn't happening in isolation. Dooku was fighting against the clock, not just Yoda, on Geonosis. He had a matter of literally seconds before the hangar was filled with Clone Troopers (and a very angry Padme Amidala) shooting at him. And Windu was on the way to the hangar (and in old, now non-canon games from Lucasarts like the 2002 Clone Wars game on Nintendo Gamecube etc, Windu literally does fight his way to the hangar across the raging battlefields on Geonosis and just misses out on the action before Dooku escapes; that is still 'a thing' in the non-canon, 'Legends' material; it's just that in Disney/Disnoid BS-canon, that no longer happened) Of course Windu would be following Yoda to support him on whatever he was trying to do. Windu led the Clone Troopers into battle but by the time Yoda fights Dooku, that battle is more than won, so it makes sense Windu could be excused from leading soldiers and just trying to find Dooku and by logical conclusion, Yoda as well. Dooku would have been a challenge even for Yoda, and Windu would know that. It all makes sense for him to be actively trying to apprehend or kill him. Windu had a chance to attack Dooku in the Petranaki Arena - although Dooku wasn't fazed by him _at all_ smiling and dismissing him. Dooku never even bothered to draw his lightsaber, even with Windu levelling his lightsaber to the throat of Jango Fett. Dooku just didn't care. He knew that Windu would have to deal with Jango first anyway, and that his battle droids would soon be there. Windu in turn knew that one wrong move meant he'd probably get skewered on Dooku's lightsaber. [part 1/2, part 2 in reply below]

[@ThePalaeontologist]

People like to hype Windu up, but the moment he turned his back to Dooku to deflect B2 Super Battle Droid fire, Jango attacked him with his wrist flamethrower and set fire to his cloak. If Jango could do that, why couldn't Dooku have decapitated him or run him through? Because the plot didn't allow it and because Dooku didn't like to defeat opponents like that, outside of the parameters of a set duel. Even as a Sith Lord, he'd probably find that dishonourable. Jango couldn't resist Leeroy Jenkins'ing himself against Windu over his own ego and pride for being semi-humiliated by Windu on the balcony, caught off-guard. His Mandalorian spirit and pride wouldn't let him stand for that, so he attacked. And, he died for it, completely outclassed. In later sources, Windu muses on the 'chance' he allegedly had to kill Dooku that day. In my view, that was always just Windu fan bait and hype for the idea of 'badass Windu' being 'invincible'. People will also point to Windu 'defeating' Sidious (again, another example of bad writing, and a tonally erroneous howler by Lucas) in Episode III, as some kind of fire argument for why Dooku 'can't' beat Windu. It's just not true. It'd be a totally different duel altogether and Dooku knew Windu as a fighter and as a colleague. Palpatine just knew him as a very powerful Jedi and serious threat, to be removed. Dooku knew him as a colleague fighting side by side with him. Plus, Dooku was the only Jedi other than Yoda to ever defeat Windu in sparring at the Jedi Temple. Old man Dooku in ROTS Episode III might just struggle with gather the kinetic energy to withstand Windu's incredible flurry of momentous offensive moves in a duel, but I would say Dooku would be something of a 'negative charge' when opposing Windu's energetic style. Dooku is incredibly energy efficient and would be able to be more precise. It'd be a close fight don't get me wrong. But Prime Dooku is definitely a cut above Windu in my opinion. Kenobi or Koon would only get anywhere near scoring a win over Dooku, in later canon. Kenobi in the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series would probably be strong enough if he beat Vader. But Vader was unbalanced, overly emotional and fighting out of form because of it being Kenobi he was fighting in the first place. Plus that series is absolute cringe doge sheeet. Plo Koon might be able to be good with Form V like Anakin, and take the fight to Dooku, but ultimately, the odds of him really beating Dooku are pretty low IMO. He gets overhyped sometimes. In other words, >99.9% of the Jedi don't stand a single chance against Dooku in 1 V 1 duels and a big chunk of them would still die to Dooku even if they had superior numbers like in 3 V 1 or 2 V 1 scenarios. Imagine the line of best fit average Joe Jedi in the Temple in the Clone Wars. Then compare them to Dooku. It's not even fair. Even Anakin _with_ Obi-Wan's help got both their asses handed to them multiple times by Dooku during the Clone Wars. And together, against almost anyone else, they were next to unstoppable. Dooku just gets mega-underrated cos of hype for Maul and Vader and because the merch marketing for both of them was always way easier visually and logically. Of course the main target audience for Lucas and later for Disney, was _always_ children. So what sells better to kids in terms of lunchboxes, toy collectibles, lightsaber toys, books, t-shirts and video games? etc etc... Of course it's going to be the decades-established Darth Vader with his iconic villainous outline, and imposing form, as well as the edgy, spiky devil lad that is known as Darth Maul. Of course that was going to sell better than an old man. It's just how these things go. Dooku appeals more to the older audience who know how dangerous and powerful in other ways he is, without having to be a raging, tattooed devil or a half-machine monster/tank. Dooku is the more sophisticated Sith Lord of the three. Those awful Son of Dathomir comics have led Maul fans to actually believe Maul could take on just about anyone, including Dooku, and win. It's hilarious. It's pure fan service to the Maul fans. And it's written by Maul fans. See a more mature and sensible story with Dooku and Yoda's meeting and subsequent duel on Vjun. See how much better that is by comparison. Funny stuff that Son of Dathomir nonsense. It was bad enough that Disney insisted on bringing him back, only to play off Dave Filoni's ego born characters like Ahsoka Tano. It's such BS. It went into bizarro world territory the moment Maul had a brother. And the award for worst name ever given to a character in SW, is 'Savage Oppress'. Holy nerfherder is that an awful name. By the Force that is bad. Nah, I know there are worse random character names in SW lore, but for a main character of a big series, that is just unforgiveable. Utter dross. And worse, they had him serving as a blatantly untrustworthy sidekick to Dooku until they had to jump the shark and have him go rogue looking for Maul. It's the entire reason Savage Oppress even exists. His entire only existed to act as a drawn out vehicle to bring Maul back. After that, he may as well have just been killed by Maul immediately, because his purpose for existing was fulfilled, from a writing standpoint. He was literally the excuse to bring Maul back. And no, Dooku should not lose to Maul, ever. He'd obliterate him and take immense pleasure from doing so because of getting revenge for Qui-Gon. I wrote this whole alternative scenario where the active/main bad guy/antagonist (other than Sidious, behind the scenes) in The Phantom Menace, was Dooku all along. And that Palpatine tasks Dooku with murdering Qui-Gon on Naboo, to prove himself a true Sith Lord. And that is his final test to become Darth Tyrannus (and I'd spell it with two letter N's because 'Tyrannus' a) sounds closer to Tyrannosaurus and b) it avoids the Elephant in the room that Tyranus is sounds and looks too much like...well, 'anus') It's simple changes like that which make all the difference (haha) In my version of Episode I, Dooku has a dramatic and emotional duel with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, knocking Kenobi out and reluctantly, ashamedly killing Qui-Gon in a very sad and intense scene, in which Dooku stops himself from doing the deed several times over but eventually puts his idealism and agenda for 'the greater good' in front of his own attachment and platonic love for Qui-Gon Jinn. He was like a son to Dooku, and he cared greatly for him, as Filoni got right (for a change) in Tales Of The Jedi. Filoni is still a complete and utter huckster and egotist who is overrated and weird. Filoni managed to get that right in between his ongoing and slightly more than slightly disturbing obsession with Ahsoka Tano. He overplayed the importance of Mace Windu a bit in comparison to Dooku, with Dooku certainly being his senior deserving more respect, but there you go. That's good old Davy Baloni for you. A cheese merchant through and through. Dooku would easily kill Ahsoka Tano, as well. And I'm not even going to go into Rey and all that stuff. Giggity.

[@kevinhansen8211]

If I remember the novel RotS correctly, it was not just a matter of age. Anakin started drawing deep from the darkside after Palpatine told him not to be afraid of his feelings but to embrace them. In that moment, Anakin was drawing in alot of dark side energy; energy that Dooku was now cut off from. Not being able to draw from the darkness, is another factor that led to the Count's downfall.

[@ked49]

Emotion doesn’t mean darkside. Kenobi used emotion and bested Vader

[@chilledClouds]

Good observation... I also remember that part from the book. Something like: Dooku was grabbing for the force, but it was like there was nothing there, or something of that sort. Excelent writer. enriches an already amazing movie.

[@T1Top]

@Ke D Plot armour as usual, Not surprised it surrounds him, Most overated ginger in the history of gingers

[@pallasathe4299]

@@ked49 not exact it was more of his emotion turned him to dark side energy since it’s more manipulative and stronger.

[@Draekmus]

@@chilledClouds could Palpatine be blocking the Force from Dooku? Like, Dooku was so strong in TCW because Palpatine allowed it. Now that his puppet no longer held any use, he withdrew the support of the Dark Side, causing Dooku to weaken and quickly feel his age.

[@Manuel_B.]

he was ordered to throw that fight, that's why he was so surprised when his 'master' told anakin to cut his head off. he was expecting to get taken prisoner.

[@jacobwest7]

I just figured he lost because anakin had grown stronger and maybe he had declined slightly, also it didnt help that anakin seemed like he dipped into the darkside for a bit at the end

[@ShadowJedi527]

"The dark side of the Force is a disease no Sith lord would wish to be cured from." - Darth Plagueis

[@jorgemaiz7624]

Dooku wasn't weaker, Anakin grew stronger. Moreover, Dooku wasn't expecting to fight for his life. Also, I tend to think Dooku could have been even more powerful if he had fully embraced the Dark Side.

[@101620DAR]

The end he just realizes he was expendable

[@R.R.R.465]

Right something not mentioned in the video, Dooku, never fully embraced the dark side, he used it for tertiary power but couldn't fully allow himself to be taken, as was his arrogant nature, he would never allow himself to be fully corrupted by Sidious and the dark side, except shortly before ROTS, where he decided that the only way forward was to accept the inevitable nature of the dark and allowed it to start affecting his emotions and judgement, as he believed himself superior, but was tricked by Sidious ultimately, and so the story goes

[@armoredp]

Exactly this. Like I am asking myself, at what point was Dooku weak? He held his own against 2 of the most accomplished Jedi in the order and was mostly kicking their ass. He merely made the mistake of reusing a move that Anakin, the fricking chosen one and supposedly the most physically powerful jedi at the time, abused and he got killed. All while his Master was secretly setting him and his seperatist army up to fail. People are acting too much like Star Wars works like Dragonball Z. That you can only beat someone if you have a higher power level. The way I read this fight scene is that Dooku is a fricking beast, that was wiping the floor with Obi-wan and forced Anakin to his absolute limit when a small opportunity arised that Anakin was good enough exploit.

[@R.R.R.465]

@@armoredp If you watch the duels in ROTS and TCW, not the show just the movies, Dooku is presented as a superior force user, almost on the level of Yoda, its the same argument as Vader vs Luke in Episode V, Dooku was expressly told to isolate Anakin and test his skill, not to injure or kill, just to test, so in both movies, he gets rid of Obi Wan and isolates Anakin, the only problem is that he wasn't expecting Anakin to change to a more aggressive duelling style in ROTS, fuelled by years of pain and depression, is it true that older force users get tired faster, yes, Sidious, old Ben, even Darth Vader in the prequels has laboured breathing when he allows a much younger Luke to walk him down with powerful, fast strikes. Anakin became too much of a match for him and he knew it ultimately.

[@ladyriethegoldendelmo5441]

wasnt dooku going easy on anakin? and if he went for anakin instead of obi-wan. dooku would had won lol

[@lordofpain3476]

The great hero of the galaxy , Count Dooku wasn't weak in ROTS . He was merely going up against one of the most powerful beings that the galaxy had ever seen .

[@crushedscouter9522]

Lol no. Anakin gets owned by Kenobi. Dooku wrecks obi wan all day everyday

[@KENNYBIGBOWMAN]

@@crushedscouter9522a> b c>a doesn’t mean c>b

[@igorwaliszewski1153]

When i watch Dooku i think makashi is the greatest form showed in starwars. I know Dooku was focused on one form. But combining makashi with form V redirect of blasters would be amazing.

[@glennhouston5686]

Agreed would like dooku and windu to have a serious duel. Masash/gem so 👍🏿🍻

[@seanjohnson637]

Very cool bro keep up the good work love watching your Star wars videos

[@ked49]

I just had a thought on how the force works, and it is kinda cool TLDR: force has three types and there is overlap. Each type has a manifestation. Bendu, ones, priestesses. As the physical, cosmic, and living force respectively. Also hyperspace and the world between worlds are exact opposites Hyperspace - travels though space while folding time World between - travels though time while folding space the force has a few different types. Those types were created by five beings that can change the universe however they want. They created a race of tiny organisms who feed on those energies. One of the five created humanoids, one created plants, one created animals, and one created other non humanoid aliens. They then introduced said microorganisms into the cells of everything. And they left everything alone for eons. A force sensitive race emerged who decided the gods weren’t doing their jobs so they had to step in. They created hyperspace, a universe ever so out of sync with the main galaxy. As well as cutting off the unknown regions. They created/settled a few special planets. Mortis was created by them and made out of one form of the energy the cosmic force. One planet was settled that being the well spring of life a planet whose power is the living force. The final planet unnaturally strong in the physical force is Tython. Then after they did their work they created guardians for each aspect of the force. They created the ones to protect the cosmic force, and it’s three sub types, creation/maintenance/destruction. They also created the bendu a being responsible for the physical aspects, teleconesius and previously stated hyperspace. And for the wellspring they created force priestises to maintain the force responsible for birth/life/death and souls. The race then created the world between worlds as the time equivalent to hyperspace. Where one can travel thought time and fold space, hyperspace is when one can travel through space and fold time. Once they did this they too decided to take a step away from the galaxy. Leading us to the the time of the original Jedi and sith ancestors. Now onto the terms used by casual fans Darkside - any corruption of any force in any stage to willfully inflict harm or suffering onto any living creature including the different forces themselves, this includes but isn’t limited to; force drain, force severance, sith alchemy, magik, force lightning, and essence transference. light side - the term used to refer to the creation and maintenance subcategories of the cosmic force, the physical force, and the living as they pertain to the Jedi order. Examples of these include but aren’t limited to; telekinesis, force speed, shatterpoint, psycomitry, mind tricks, mind reading, force visions, flow walking, skywalking,and Jedi meditation. The force- a combination of the three forces stated above: cosmic, living, physical. Cosmic - any abilities used by the Jedi order of the prequel era. Both cosmic and physical force Living - term used for connecting with the universe, force ghosts, force transfer, animal talking, etc The reason i thought of this is because someone told be no one can understand the force. So I took that personally. And I tried to solve that challenge. Also everything in this i learned from this channel. I synthesized everything while under a lack of sleep and slightly drugged after surgery.

[@henrykjohn78]

Thanks man ! That was very comprehensive and highly appreciated

[@ked49]

@@henrykjohn78 there is at least one thing I forgot. That is the planet at the heart of the physical force. Tython

[@jonathanpeterson5442]

Tldr

[@warheartdaemon7293]

Sir this is a Wendy’s 😅

[@warheartdaemon7293]

Nah I’m playing. Very well thought out and comprehensive. I gotta make a lil jokey joke tho 😂

[@Rangnathebloodedge]

Your archives have helped me learn new and exciting things about my favorite show and movies

[@happyplacehomestudio375]

Another obvious reason Dooku was weakened is that his master was obviously setting him up and probably purposefully weakening him in preparation for his new apprentice, Anakin. This was out in the open just before Dooku lost his head, but was happening long before as well.

[@jerrywoo4170]

On Oba Diah, you can see how Dooku made Obi wan a hinderance to Anakin. He kept going for Anakin agressively forcing Kenobi onto offence which is his weaker side while Anakin was forced to defend which is his weaker side, this threw both jedi off and essentially made a stalemate.

[@deo864]

most brilliant take ive seen on the matter. makes perfect sense.

[@crownprincesebastianjohano7069]

It wasn't much of a stalemate though. Dooku could have easily killed Obi-Wan in the part of the duel he knees him in the gut and throws him. If you put that scene in slow motion, you see that Dooku pins Obi-Wan's sword arm and has a wide open shot at his chest and head with his lightsaber. Instead he just knees him. Dooku was intentionally not harming them, but that doesn't mean he didn't control that duel from start to finish.

[@crushedscouter9522]

Lol this is probably the worst take I've ever read. This is not how sword fighting works. Use some common sense please

[@trentking1978]

I'm so glad that you talked about this. I love the idea that Sidious may have already been deformed by many years of using The DarkSide. That he has been using Sith Sorcery to hide his deformity and the mask was destroy in the fight with Mace Windo.

[@OrdinaryInspiration]

I love the channel Stupendous Wave! Keep it up. You are rapidly becoming a Force to be reckoned with. May the Force be with you, always.

[@daweimer71]

Very informative and logical. Thanks!

[@hakonsgaming535]

I would say that age is also still a big factor, because three years at 80 is very VERY different from three years at literally any earlier point. For instance my dad is 86, he has aged more in the last 6 years than he did in the now 40 that I've known him. Certainly the dark side isn't helping, and especially all the stress isn't either, but everyone gets to a point where the deterioration starts to accelerate.

[@fmbbeachbum8163]

In a galaxy far far away with lightspeed travel 80 years old is 40 here.

[@cf8476]

Very good video on dooku!! Only after a deep research I managed to find this level of quality

[@crownprincesebastianjohano7069]

During the Duel on Tatooine between Yoda and Dooku in late 20 BBY, Yoda addresses the idea that the Dark Side has diminished Dooku since 21 BBY. Yoda: "Gone backwards your skills have, Dooku. No longer a formidable opponent you are. Never this slow you were. Corrupted your ability the Dark Side has..." Dooku: [Dooku blasts Yoda with Force Lightning mid-jump, disarms him and knocks him to the ground defenseless] "On the contrary, the Dark Side had made me more alert and more powerful." Clearly, Dooku wasn't diminishing. In 20 BBY Dooku not only defeats Yoda, but causally stalemates Mace Windu who has made zero progress with Vaapad. In Spring 19 BBY, Dooku effortlessly kills Master Tiplee, and then dominates Obi-Wan and Skywalker on Oba Dia. While wounded he summons a blast of Force Lightning so powerful it kills Ventress. He wasn't growing weaker. His power in the Force was growing.

[@flygonkerel781]

always great to see the stover novelization referenced

[@jlfitzg1]

You can also add the fact that in the novel Dark Disciple, Dooku had suffered multiple injuries after the clone battalion, led by Kenobi and Skywalker, destroyed the tower in which he hid. The collapsing debris plus an earlier fight with the dark side version of Quinlan Vos had severely weakened him. Again, this was only a few months before his last duel with Skywalker, so he was still likely licking his wounds.

[@Drock7749]

Great video and great points. Another factor that affected Dooku was he didn't give himself over to the dark side. He accepted it and delved deep in it but never gave himself wholly to it which is why his eyes never changed to the glowing Sith eyes as well as didn't grant him deep reserves to call upon to maintain and increase his power more significantly. Now can you imagine just how insane he would have been had he gave himself completely to the dark side? I feel he would have been stronger than Maul at his strongest and just under full power Vader.

[@stretch1681]

I never looked at it like that. Thanks for this.

[@Novalan1995]

It is stated in the Revenge of the Sith Novelisation that He severely underestimated Anakin. And Anakin wanted revenge ever since he cut his hand off, his unique lightsaber technique which was a variation of djem so, was specifically designed to counter the count's dueling form.

[@faitaccompli5878]

When a person is already in advanced age, three years makes a significant difference.

[@chrismagnum06]

Thank you for doing theae videos on Dooku.alot of "slept" on him because he wasnt cool looking like Maul or Vader but i loved him in episodes 2 and 3,especially his hilt and style.awesome character but Anakin/Vader is my number one.

[@JohnGrove310]

I love how every time any Jedi gets killed like qui-gon it's because they are old... But Sidious was like 100 and yet he was still the most feared...

[@commodorezero]

Tbh by the time Sidious got to his 80s there was no one left to take advantage of any nerfing that would have come from that. Vader had the life support suit etc. But there's no reason to think Sidious didn't lose a step same as Dooku.

[@tiffanybatcheller-harris522]

Bad writing on the part of the authors/producers. 🤮

[@theprophecy3302]

No Sirius was Younger than Dooku

[@TITAN-us2ej]

He had no rivals. The Jedi was extinct. Sidious only feared Luke.

[@commanderjonson2610]

“My powers have doubled since the last time we met” -Anakin

[@xenniealsentinel1800]

Darth bane struggled in advanced age as well. The tremors, the physical impairments that were difficult to get out of.bed, taking time to warm up in his workouts. Realizing he was weakening and did not want his apprentice to simply wait him out before the attempt to supplant him.

[@fernandoflorez8802]

Of course that's what Darth Sidious says the dark side of the force has a pathway to many abilities but some say considered to be unnatural and don't forget it has a terrible price it all makes sense now

[@theoldhermit2601]

I think it also simply cant be overstated just how much Anakin and even Obi-Wan were growing in power in the last few months of the clone wars. It says in the novel that Obi-Wan became so in tune that he could practically become the force and be the embodiment of all things that the force flows through. And it states anakin was practically beyond power itself, a dragon that could obliderate everything. Imo thats why Palpatine so quickly decided the time of ROTS was the moment to strike, because Anakin was growing so quickly that he needed to be turned before he left even Sidious in the dust. Within a year, Anakin went from close but not close enough to Dooku, to humiliating him and being able to humiliate anyone not named Yoda, Sidious or Windu. It was only when he lost focus that Obi-Wan could have a hope of besting him (im an Obi-Wan fan. But he admitted this many times himself)

[@johnmaurer8596]

I believe in a past video you covered Palpatine’s actions and thoughts in Dooku’s last dual. Palpatine was using a battle meditation and fueling Dooku’s fear, was he not?

[@legomaster9190]

And here, yet again, we can see how the lore of Star Wars parallels that of the real world. I'm not going to give specific examples, I'm sure many will come to your mind. But I've seen this, in some cases, first hand. Maybe not the aging part but most of the other aspects that are considered to be of the Dark Side. Whether you believe in the existence of the soul (I do), I'm sure we can all agree that doing certain deeds, and in some cases, "going the easier and faster route", does something to the human spirit and mind. Now the question is that how it would have affected Dooku, if he had turned back to the Light Side, like Vader did in the end of Return of the Jedi (well, similarly at least). This is a very interesting topic all in all, thanks for the analysis!

[@DualWieldFTW]

Just from a film standpoint, it can be explained away that Anakin's first time really tapping into the Dark Side caught Dooku off guard, and gave Anakin enough of a boost that Dooku's initial complacency gave Anakin ground, for which Dooku had to fight harder to maintain, which drained him. That, plus the startle effect.

[@maradjade1848]

My headcanon is that he was still freaked out by what happened with Yoda in Dark Rendezvous

[@patrickfitzgerald1354]

I remember reading that book, but I forgot what happened with yoda

[@KarlPHorse]

9:00 "just look at him in "Tales of the Jedi" compared to his appearance in "attack of the clones." Damn, why you gotta do my man Christopher Lee like that? XD

[@realifeHD]

Excellent video. But I would say plot? Same reason why Anakin lost to Obi-wan, barring Anakin running low on energy at the time

[@brokenbridge6316]

The Dark Side of the force is like a performance enhancing drug. It can help up in the moment be better than what you are but it takes a great toll on you. Mind, Body, and Soul. Something that should be seen more in the SW Universe.

[@nodatastored684]

The clone wars shows Anakin's Progression in terms of surpassing Dooku who took his arm....

[@peterchavez9024]

Dooku knew he had to keep Skywalker alive. Fighting someone convincingly and keeping them alive, must be tiring too.

[@EwingAmaterasu]

Dooku might have received a boost of power after his fall, but such a boost naturally went away, and the more dark side energy he used, the more corrupted his body got.

[@roelgonzalez8949]

Wow.. excellent point. I never thought of it that way. Now after hearing this, dooku is my favorite character.

[@andrewcrenshaw8093]

Elegant and refined. A Noble and Formidable Warrior.

[@ronoc420]

I loved Dooku as a character

[@chasehedges6775]

Along Christopher Lee’s acting.

[@ronoc420]

@@chasehedges6775 true

[@JonnyLin7]

Dooku losing to Anakin was a combination between his age, him presumably using a fair amount of energy to break Obi-Wans force bubble, him holding back against Anakin to test him at the request of Palpatine, Anakin catching him off guard with his power and Anakin's style being a bit of a counter to Dooku's weaknesses. I think the style factor is a bit underrated. We see Obi-Wan taken out by Dooku in ROTS despite showing later on the ability to defeat Anakin. This is because Soresu relies on tiring out an opponent or waiting for the opponent to make a mistake through a focus on precision and efficiency, which isn't effective against Dooku and his use of Makashi which also focuses on extreme precision and efficiency, but a heavier emphasis on lightsaber dueling as opposed to defense like Soresu. Dooku never leaves any clear openings for Obi-Wan to exploit and would inevitably to be able to eventually outduel Obi-Wan since his form is better tailored to dueling. On the other hand Anakin's Djem So physically overwhelm Dooku to create openings, which is what happened in their duel, which is something Obi-Wan simply can't do using Soresu. However, Anakin couldn't do the same against Obi-Wan given Soresu's focus on defense, and because Anakin's form requires signficant physical exertion, Obi-Wan was able to wait Anakin to eventually make a mistake he could exploit.

[@khumarchauhan1231]

Guess I didn’t realize that Dooku was older than the chancellor. I really am curious what a duel between prime Dooku and prime Palpatine would be like

[@zxKAOS1]

5:24 _"Every strike from Anakin was aging him a decade"_ Iconic indeed!

[@Funknwanker]

He was barely in RoTS and he wasn’t weak. Anakin was just getting closer to his potential. The only reasons Obi-wan was able to defeat h was because how well he knew his lightsaber technique and his love for Anakin.

[@seanandrews5329]

And anakin arrogance. Also scissors beats paper but scissors doesn’t beat rock situation

[@savagedarksider2147]

Dooku was A pawn and he couldn't see it.

[@countdooku7991]

The case still stands for all of Palpatines apprentices including Vader.

[@jetuber]

"Your powers are weak, old man." Even the perpetually OP Kenobi was acknowledged to be diminished due to age -- light-side wielder though he was -- by the time of ANH. And Yoda by ROTJ couldn't have done much, combat wise.

[@user-yk2sy3yq2l]

If they do more tells of the Jedi I'd like to see Dooku, Anikins age or his peak and see his dueling skills in training or actual combat

[@jeste4187]

Dooku wasn’t weak; it was just that anakin was stronger. Remember? Chosen one?

[@rickisaiahfierro4255]

Tales of the Jedi, Dooku, was pretty heart breaking. His love for Qui Gon was more powerful than Episode one showed.. that would've been cool to see some Dooku in that movie. Glad to see it how it is though.

[@zxKAOS1]

In the Dark Empire graphic novels (taking place 6 years after Return of the Jedi), Sidious had vats of clone bodies prepared so that he could transfer his essence into a new one. The clones were of young adult age. So great was his dark side influence that it would be mere years before the new body became corrupt and useless.

[@TrashPanda90914]

Ive always seen it as a combination of these things. Dooku was getting older, Anakin was getting stronger and Palpatine was essentially preventing Dooku from fighting at his best. I think that he was still far more skilled than Anakin at this point and would have beaten him if Palps wasn't present though.

[@Thirteen13551355]

I enjoy your content a lot because it focuses on the Legends canon, rather than the Disney canon.

[@pIayingwithmahwii]

old age often comes on fast. someone can be seemingly fine at 80 and then be on the verge at 83... or even 81, or sooner.

[@chiefsprinkles]

Hi Stupendous!

[@TheStupendousWave]

Hey!

[@rexmagi4606]

I think it mostly had to do with Dooku knowing he wasn't allowed to kill Anakin. Try boxing or sparring with someone who you aren't allowed to actually hit but they are allowed to hit you. It's one of the most difficult situations to be in, especially because this is Anakin and Dooku. Obi-Wan is the only one who could have actually beaten Anakin with a defensive style and that's why he did (Plus high ground). I think Palpatine clearly knew this would result in Dooku losing and he wanted to make room for Anakin as he had planned. He even admitted this to Grievous.

[@jetuber]

Excellent point, especially about Dooku being at a disadvantage due to the restriction of not being allowed to fight to kill.

[@davidmccormick550]

Combo of Dark side and sheer exhaustion is my guess. Only using the Dark Side causes corrosion of the body. He was a politician, general, Teacher and commander. Man probably overused Jedi tricks to stay awake and active with four full-time, draining jobs. Reminds me of whatiz name from Warhammer, the guy who replied to a gun to his head with” I can’t die now, I’m too busy!” He also was only one of two competent generals iirc..

[@underdawg2743]

The Dark Side withers and ages you as wielding it takes its toll

[@starkillerab1582]

In my Fanon my Jedi master Bac’Cara Prayvus is in his 80s by the time the 30s ABY and he is still at his Prime

[@KashMoneyZack]

The story arc that put Dooku against Ventress & the Night Sisters while he was basically high off opioids will forever be one of the coldest episodes of the Clone Wars

[@TheAncientSith]

Probably had to do with the fact that he’s 83. And he did get his a$$ kicked a lot in the canon spin-offs of comics and novels I’ve read. He’s actually been beaten by Quinlan Vos due to a massive rage amp and got the daylights beaten out of him in the Dark Disciple book. In Son Of Dathomir he also got massively electrocuted by Darth Sidious. All of these beatings probably deprived him of his good stamina and other physical abilities, and a bit of old age as well.

[@chrisdudedurian1305]

"Beware the old man in a profession where men usually die young."

[@Ultimabendessen]

The title made me think this was the Star Wars Explained channel. I thought the answer was simply: "My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count."

[@HabitualAura]

I think dooku was aging and anakin was maturing in sync with one another

[@jeffmontgomery9845]

I think at the end of season 6 when Sideous used Dooko to spy on Yoda whenhe was on Dagaba learning how to become a force ghost stole alot of his lifeforce. It was Sideous plan all along because he knew he was going to turn Skywalker enven back then. IMO😊

[@KenobiandDookuSoloTheSequels]

Between S6 - ROTS Dooku took part in 3 deleted CW arcs, in 2 of which he was wounded badly. In DD his ship crushed but in SOD he was drained by Talzin for a second time in the war. Not to mention that he held back in the beginning and Anakin was boosted

[@bloodknight7420]

Respect 🫡 Sir Be him as Count Dooku, Sir Christopher Lee is a great man a legend forever spoken upon the world for this legend of man walked with Wizards,Jedi Master, Sith Lords and Knights of modern day what makes him still cherish by so many people to this day I think because he solt neither glory nor fame but he was always willing to give and exchange wisdom

[@brandonmedina494]

If his age weakened him why didn't Palpatine get weaker with age?

[@joels5150]

Lightsaber skills versus weaker/less skilled opponents are going to allow for more efficient/less energy expenditures. Just between the fight in AotC and RotS, it’s reasonable that both Anakin and Obi-Won became more skilled individually, and adept as a duo. Also, it’s plausible and even likely Palpatine found a way to influence the fight in the latter battle. Age/weariness or even a secret sickness could account for diminished ability, and in a fight to the death, it doesn’t take much to affect the outcome.

[@Lanwarder]

I always assumed that Palpatine was doing his best to manipulate the force to ensure that, ideally, only he and Anakin would make it out alive. I mean, I agree with your explanations, but I'm pretty confident my answer was a factor as well.

[@WRL13]

3:54 that reminds me... in the clone wars episode, The Phantom Apprentice, Obi-Wan says they needed to capture Dooku so they could learn the identity of Sidious. this light of thought would have occurred on Obadiah, when they learned Dooku was Darth Tyrannus and funded the clone army. yet just months before the battle of Coruscant, they decided to try and assassinate him?

[@ragnarshadow]

I always assumed that he was asked to take it easy on darth skywalker, and he was surprised by anakin vader's improvement, and lastly was probably being drained and or sabotaged in some way by darth wrinkles.

[@jasonmelvin9102]

In the Darth Plagueis novel, it shows how he was already on the council and a veteran jedi while Palpatine was still making his political come up. Plagueis seems very wise to turn Doolu and Syfo-Dyas against the order.

[@john98765333]

If only Dooku had opened the Sith holocron that taught the Sith essence transfer. He had it, but he delivered it to Palpatine. If only he kept it. That would make a pretty good What if. lol

[@gustavo33413]

7:08 Nihilus actually reached that point. His devouring of the Force on planetary scale actually destroyed his body, to the point of him making a full transfer of his soul to a mask.

[@matthewmann8969]

Imagine if Dooku mastered essense transfer and was in his physical prime body when fighting Anakin And Obi Wan in ROTS yeah.

[@BentonAJames]

Yoda primarily used form 4, which is an aggressive, offensive style of lightsaber combat, and requires the user to tap into the Force to boost their skill and abilities. Even though Dooku uses Form 2, which is calculated and requires the user to be calm and level headed during a fight, it’s safe to assume that Dooku wouldn't incorporate an element or the occasional technique from form 4 since Yoda was his master. Form 4 is exhausting to the user because they barrage their opponents with attacks. So if Dooku was tired from fighting, it's safe to assume he was tapping into the Force in order to withstand Anakin and Obi-Wan, each with their own unique style of fighting. That would be tiring for any lightsaber combatant, no matter how skilled. It's especially impressive, though, because form 2 utilizes as much efficiency from as little energy as possible. So if Dooku was tired, he must have been putting up quite a fight.

[@kaidorade1317]

I thought Sidious used a cane not because he had to, but merely as a prop when he was around those who didn’t know his true identity.

[@S_bear7878]

The class storyline of the Sith Inquisitor in SWTOR interestingly bring up this concept.