‘Star Wars’: Who was Count Dooku’s Jedi Master before he turned to the Dark Side?

For a person born with Force sensitivity, there’s not much cooler than mastering it in the Star Wars universe. Though that isn’t to say being a Jedi is the end all be all for Force-sensitive beings; plenty find themselves tempted by the call of the Dark Side, and many answer that call.

Take a promising Jedi like Count Dooku; an especially talented youngling, and one initially committed to being the best Jedi of his generation. If you’ve seen the Star Wars prequels, then you know it doesn’t quite work out that way for Dooku. By the time of the Clone Wars, he’s strayed far from his Jedi teachings but in the years prior, he was once a Master himself.

Dooku famously took on Qui-Gon Jinn as a Padawan before he left the Order, but he too was a Padawan long prior to becoming a Jedi Master. Before turning to the Dark Side, Dooku was trained by one of the greatest Jedi of all time, which makes their eventual lightsaber duel even more significant.

Who was the Jedi Master who trained Count Dooku?

Before Count Dooku turned to the Dark Side, he was trained by none other than Yoda himself. Dooku was one of Yoda’s last pupils and while he was talented, he’s also one of the most troublesome. Per the canon comic, Yoda 4, Yoda praises Dooku as potentially the best Padawan of his generation of Jedi, to which Dooku responds, “I recall getting into more trouble than any other Padawan of my generation.” At the time, Yoda fondly considered Dooku’s propensity for trouble as a positive.

Sadly, the two were forced to meet again as foes during the events of the Clone Wars. After training Qui-Gon, Dooku trained at least one other pupil who turned toward the Dark Side. Her turning and subsequent death caused Dooku to reexamine his feelings about the Jedi Order and the corruption within. Like many former Jedi, he eventually became disillusioned with the Jedi Order and left to carve out his own path.

Before leaving, Dooku consulted with his former master about his decision to leave the Order. Saddened, Yoda nonetheless respected his protege’s choice after hearing him out and wished him well. Years later, master and student met again after Dooku had been manipulated by Darth Sidious and had joined the Sith.

Knowing the two were once so close makes their battle in Star Wars: Episode II all the more bittersweet — of course, Dooku realizes he can’t beat his former master in a one-on-one fight, Sith or not, and he ultimately ran away. This, along with the outcome of the Duel of the Fates, further cemented his turning from the light, and made Count Dooku one of the biggest players in the war to come.