Dooku: Jedi Lost explains why Yoda didn’t want Anakin to become a Jedi

The new Star Wars audio drama tells the story of Dooku’s journey through the ranks of the Jedi Order. It’s his story Yoda recalls when Anakin Skywalker appears before the council.

SPOILERS AHEAD for Dooku: Jedi Lost. You have been warned.

“No. He will not be trained. He’s too old.” – Mace Windu

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“Clouded, this boy’s future is.” – Master Yoda

Dooku, Count of Serenno wasn’t raised to be a “bad guy.” In fact, he was taken from his home at an early age like most other Jedi-to-be in order to join the ranks of the most powerful force of knights in the galaxy.

He was raised by Jedi. Not bad people. Simply misguided, at times.

For a long time, he remained dedicated to the Jedi Order. Until he eventually decided to leave it … and later become the apprentice of a Sith Lord.

What led Dooku down the path of the dark side? It turns out the root cause of his fall wasn’t that different from another Jedi-turned-Sith.

And Yoda — the grandest of Jedi Masters — may have unintentionally set his dark fate in motion.

It was Yoda who agreed to allow Dooku to travel to his home planet with a group of masters and apprentices despite knowing the potential dangers of doing so. As a result, the Jedi apprentice met his sister face-to-face by accident — and that’s not even the worst of it.

He would also learn while on Serenno that his father, the current count, thought ill of the Jedi and sent Dooku away to get rid of him for good.

To meet your father for the first time, only to find out he never wanted you at all, may have crushed his spirit. But his sister couldn’t just let him walk away and break their newly formed connection — one that was already strong, since it was through the Force Dooku sensed and recognized her.

For years following this fateful outing, Dooku and his sister continued to communicate secretly even though it was forbidden. This further strengthened his bond with his family — a family he now felt he could not leave behind.

This forbidden contact would draw Dooku back to his family and homeworld on multiple occasions throughout the story — and ultimately what leads him to walk away from the Jedi Order in favor of serving his planet and people.

As his master, Yoda witnessed all of this occur — the temptation, fear, and attachment. And even though Dooku’s fall to the dark side wasn’t immediate, there’s no doubt that when he did descend into darkness, the Grand Master deeply regretted ever exposing the former Jedi to such heartache.

Now imagine years later meeting a boy who has had nearly a decade to form a bond with his mother — a bond that technically began at conception and would continue through the Force, since the Force itself was responsible for his creation.

Yoda would not argue against Mace Windu’s initial verdict: Anakin Skywalker was “too old” to be trained in the ways of the Jedi. He even asks the body directly about his mother and acknowledges his fear of separating from her, years before that very fear would draw him to Palpatine and lead him into the dark side.

Most Force-sensitive children were brought to the Jedi Temple as infants. Children with memories of their families and homeworlds were always in danger of facing and succumbing to temptation. Yoda trained Dooku, and knew better than anyone else on the council that bonds as strong as those of family were dangerous.

Anakin Skywalker was dangerous. The Grand Master may not have known this — how could a 9-year-old boy from Tatooine pose a threat to the Republic — to the Jedi?

But he did sense the boy’s fear. He did know the dark side was a possible path, even if he never guessed it would be a likely one.

His judgment clouded, Yoda did not prevent the future Darth Vader from being trained. But he certainly did not approve. He had seen what emotional attachment could do to a Jedi. He had lost his own apprentice to its consequences.

He would never fail to warn young Skywalker — and other Jedi before him — that the fear of loss was an invitation down the wrong path.

He tried his best. The shadow of the dark side had already fallen over the Order, and there was nothing he or others on the Council could do about it.

History repeats itself. Prophecy deceives. Yoda may have known Anakin Skywalker was susceptible to walking away from the light the same way Dooku had. But perhaps it was blind faith, and trust in the Force, that gave him hope.

Eventually, Dooku would fall at the hands of the man that would become Lord Vader. Yoda would come face-to-face with darkness many times, and would die plagued by his failures despite his final act of wisdom: training a hero.

Dooku couldn’t resist the dark side. Anakin Skywalker couldn’t, either. But Yoda did learn from his mistakes. He did take on one more apprentice, years later — and Luke Skywalker would, in turn, help lead his father back to the light.

Have you listened to Dooku: Jedi Lost on Audible? Don’t hesitate to dive into Dooku’s dark past and let us know your thoughts in a comment below.