Why Is Count Dooku Still Treated With Respect In Tales Of The Jedi After Leaving The Jedi Order?
This post contains spoilers for "Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi."
In one of the more infamous deleted scenes from "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones," the Jedi Librarian Jocastu Nu laments to Obi-Wan Kenobi that the Jedi Order lost Count Dooku. He was once a Jedi, and one who deserved their respect and admiration. He was always held in high esteem, even after his departure from the order. And that is why it was so surprising to so many Jedi that he turned to the ways of the Sith and the Dark Side.
But Dooku was always troubled as a Jedi. Even his first episode in the new animated series "Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi" shows us his struggle against darker uses of the Force. Yet also it shows how Qui-Gon Jinn balanced him. The second episode he appears in deepens his struggle with the politics of the Jedi and the Senate. The Jedi understand his concerns, but are unable to see how far to the dark he's willing to go.
At some point, not long after the second episode of "Tales of the Jedi," around the time Qui-Gon Jinn takes Obi-Wan Kenobi as his apprentice, Dooku leaves the Jedi order. In Kiersten White's novel "Star Wars: Padawan," a young Obi-Wan Kenobi is concerned that Dooku will convince his former apprentice to leave as well, but those fears turn out to be unfounded.
As Dooku returns to the Jedi Temple during the fourth episode of "Tales of the Jedi," long after his departure from the Order itself, why is he allowed to hang around without anyone questioning him?
The respect of a Jedi
Not many Jedi have ever left the Jedi Order, and those that do leave on good terms are still afforded the respect and dignity of a Jedi. In some ways, once a Jedi, always a Jedi. For Dooku, he's still a respected figure in the galaxy, even if he became disillusioned with the relationship between the Jedi and the Republic Senate. And since he hasn't started developing the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Separatist movement at this point in the story, he's welcome to come and go as he pleases to the Jedi Temple to visit and study. When he hears word of his former apprentice's death at the hands of Darth Maul, Dooku returns to the Temple, despite his ulterior motives.
He's not questioned at all when he goes to the Jedi Archives, and no one would suspect him of using the codes of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas to erase Kamino from the Archive memory. In his grief for his apprentice, no one would think twice about Dooku's appearance at the Temple in this troubled time. And because he's still held in high regard, he would be treated with respect and keep the honorifics of his post as a former Jedi.
This isn't his first time coming back to the Temple after his departure from the Jedi Order, either. This has happened at least once before, as documented in "Star Wars: Padawan."
Unfortunately for Master Yaddle, she suspects something is wrong and discovers the real reasons why Dooku should not be treated with respect. But at this point, she's the only one.
All six episodes of "Tales of the Jedi" are now streaming on Disney+.