Amusingly, it increasingly seems as though Star Wars simply can’t decide whether Count Dooku knew about Order 66. In canon, the clone army was commissioned by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, a Jedi who possessed a unique predilection toward visions of the future. The Jedi Council generally distrusted these visions, with Yoda considering any attempt to prepare for a glimpsed future to be of the dark side; Jedi are supposed to obey the will of the Force, not try to control it, he argued. Sifo-Dyas disagreed, sensing the coming of the Clone Wars, and he commissioned the clone army to give the Jedi a chance to survive the coming darkness.
There is a tragic irony in the fact Sifo-Dyas’ plan to save the Jedi became the very tools the Sith used to destroy them. Palpatine had already seduced Sifo-Dyas’ good friend Count Dooku to the dark side, and Dooku engineered Sifo-Dyas’ death, before subverting the entire clone program. Inhibitor chips were installed in the clones that would allow the Sith to turn them into mindless killers when Palpatine issued Order 66. But the interesting question is whether Dooku knew what he was doing.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Suggested Dooku Knew About Order 66
According to the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Dooku did not plan for the Jedi to be destroyed; rather, he hoped for them to be reformed under his command after the Clone Wars, which explains why he tried to recruit Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. But Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 6 took a different approach, with Dooku disturbed when he heard one of the clones – Tup – had killed a Jedi. He spoke to Darth Sidious, telling them their plans were in danger, and went to great effort to capture the rogue clone, whose inhibitor chip had triggered prematurely.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars portrayed Dooku as Palpatine’s willing co-conspirator, clearly well aware the clones could (and would) be turned against the Jedi. Although he tells the Kaminoans this is just a contingency, his comments to Darth Sidious confirm he expected Order 66 to be given. He planned for the Jedi to be wiped out.
Star Wars’ Latest Dooku Story Suggests He Didn’t Know About Order 66
The problem, though, is that this directly contradicts Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi episode 4, which offers a different interpretation of his character. These animated shorts show how Dooku became a Sith Apprentice even as the rest of the Jedi mourned the death of his former Jedi Apprentice, Qui-Gon Jinn. It is notable, though, that this is a version of Dooku who grieves for Qui-Gon’s death, believing it a waste, and who mourns his friend Sifo-Dyas as well. He sees these two deaths as a necessary waste, and hoped his actions would limit the deaths to come.
This portrayal is even more striking given Tales of the Jedi stresses that Dooku has come straight from Kamino, having conducted Palpatine’s business and instructed the Kaminoans to install the inhibitor chip in their nascent clone army. Here, Dooku is simply Palpatine’s patsy, manipulated with ease by someone whose plans are a decade ahead of everyone else. Viewers are no doubt reminded of Dooku in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, sacrificed as a pawn so Palpatine could replace him with Anakin Skywalker.
It’s possible to resolve this narrative, perhaps by suggesting Palpatine told Dooku the truth about Order 66 years later, when he was convinced Dooku was committed to the Sith. That’s a simple fix, but it doesn’t change the fundamental reason behind these two different portrayals of Dooku; the fact Star Wars can’t quite decide what role he had in the saga. Was Dooku a fully committed Sith Lord, co-conspirator with Darth Sidious, orchestrator of the Jedi’s demise? Or was he just another pawn, a tool to be discarded? Star Wars doesn’t seem able to decide – and that’s why these stories sit together so uncomfortably.
