Star Wars: The Bad Batch Shows How The Galaxy Remembered Count Dooku
Count Dooku is unlike anyone else in the "Star Wars" universe. He's an enigma that's central to the prequel trilogy's story. Still, he's barely developed as a character. Animated series like "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," "Tales of the Jedi," and the audiobook "Dooku: Jedi Lost" gifts us with some of his backstories. But even with all those layers, the Count of Serenno remains mysterious.
Perhaps that's just the fate of any character first played by Sir Christopher Lee, who brought a spellbinding charisma to every performance of his career. Or maybe it's the complexity of Dooku's story? He's a man who served the Jedi for decades and betrayed them. In "Tales of the Jedi," we see the good intentions that ultimately lead Dooku (Corey Burton) to the dark side. He believed, like his former padawan Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), that the Jedi Council was becoming too corrupt to fulfill its mission of helping those in need. Of course, those good intentions became corrupted by Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid). Dooku lived his final years as the sworn enemy of the Jedi.
For all of Dooku's complexity, he wasn't remembered as much more than a common thief after his death — at least, according to "Star Wars: The Bad Batch." Season 2, episode 1 brings Clone Force 99 to Dooku's home planet of Serenno, where we see how the galaxy far, far away remembers him.
Count Dooku's own people came to despise him
When the Bad Batch first lands on Serenno, they see the royal city in shambles. Echo (Dee Bradley Baker) attributes the destruction to an "Imperial orbital bombardment, same as on Kamino," but we don't learn when this attack happened. "The Bad Batch" exists in a time when the line between Empire and Republic is blurred. Since Dooku was the leader of the Separatist movement, Serenno likely saw plenty of violence before the Clone Wars ended.
Regardless, the residents of Serenno don't have many fond memories of their former Count. A local man, Romar Adell (Héctor Elizondo), tells Omega (Michelle Ang), Tech (Dee Bradley Baker), and Echo that Dooku's wealth came from Serenno's citizens. He even calls the treasure trove "cursed." He says, "His quest for power is why our city is now buried in rubble."
In the "Jedi Lost" audiobook, Dooku kills his brother out of anger at his political corruption. Like their father, Dooku's brother exploits Serenno for his gain. While Dooku becomes enraged at this in the book — which remains canon despite some contradictions with "Tales of the Jedi" — he ultimately becomes the same kind of ruler in Serenno.
The galaxy saw Dooku as a greedy conqueror
Before the Bad Batch meets up with Romar, Omega learns the Separatists pillaged for their wealth. This reveal implies that Dooku took money intended for the war effort and kept it for himself, effectively kneecapping his crusade with selfish greed. While Dooku became evil in the end, this crime doesn't quite fit the self-righteous picture we have of him.
Dooku wanted to conquer and rule the galaxy. So why would he have held back funds that could have led him to victory? Given what Romar says about him, it seems more likely that most of the "war chest" is family riches, and the clones erroneously assumed his treasure came from pillaged goods during wartime. But that reveals some interesting details about Dooku's legacy.
As Republic soldiers, Clone Force 99 would have been targets of anti-Separatist propaganda. What better way to galvanize public opinion against Dooku than to paint him as a thief? Never mind the valid qualms that many Separatist systems had with the Republic; if the cause's leader became nothing more than a greedy aristocrat, it would help turn public opinion in favor of the war.
Count Dooku was Palpatine's ultimate scapegoat
Throughout his life, Count Dooku had various grand ambitions. He wanted to reform the Jedi, fix the Republic, and eventually rule it all. As the apprentice in the Sith "Rule of Two," he schemed against his master. But all of his schemes came to naught. "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" season 2 shows how Palpatine made Dooku into the perfect scapegoat.
Yes, Dooku was a powerful and angry Jedi ready to be turned to the dark side, but he was the son of a powerful Outer Rim family. His political position made him a prime candidate to be the face of the Separatist movement, with his master lurking in the background. Once Anakin (Matt Lanter) turned to the dark side, Palpatine no longer needed Darth Tyranus. In death, Dooku was the perfect scapegoat — a cold, violent miser with a detestably royal title. He was the perfect fall guy. After the war, Palpatine sent his Imperial forces to loot the Count's home. After all, it would be a shame to let all that treasure go to waste.
Through "The Bad Batch," we see how the galaxy remembered Count Dooku. He was hated by his people, despised by the galaxy, and cast as the ultimate villain by his master. By the time of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, no one even remembers his name.