Why Didn’t Dooku Confront Palpatine about His Betrayal in Episode III?

When discussing the pivotal moments of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, one cannot overlook the enigmatic character of Count Dooku. A key question posed by many fans is, lsquo;Why didn't Dooku confront Palpatine about his betrayal?rsquo;

The Shock and Atrophy of Dooku

Because Dooku was in absolute shock.

You have to understand what just happened - Dooku had just lost a fight to two of some of the most powerful force-wielders of that time. He was getting up in the years so he was likely also exhausted. Often times when we are in shock we can freeze in the moment - I know I have.

Whether it’s a feeling of hopelessness, regret, or overall confusion, that’s what Dooku felt. Dooku thought blankly, lsquo;Kill ; He and Skywalker paused for one single final instant, blades locked together, staring at each other, past a sizzling cross of scarlet against blue, and in that instant, Dooku found himself wondering in bewildered astonishment if Sidious had suddenly lost his mind. Didn’t he understand the advice he’d just given? Whose side was he on anyway? Through the cross of their blades, he saw in Skywalkerrsquo;s eyes the promise of hell and felt a sickening presentiment that he already knew the answer to that question.

lsquo;Treachery is the way of the ; Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith novelization

And unfortunately, those mere seconds of complete shock ended up being Dooku’s last.

The Lack of Time and Opportunity

I am just going out on a limb here, but maybe because Dooku had no hands at that time… or head. You see, Dooku didn’t know about the betrayal until Palpatine told Anakin to lsquo;do itrsquo;.

Do what? Do you know what Palpatine was referring to? No, you don’t because you didn’t watch the movie.

When, in the shocked few seconds between losing his hands and then losing his head, it’s not like he was given a lot of time to consider his fate, and deliberately so, by Sidious, just to prevent such a spillage of secrets. "Do it. Do it now. Kill him," Sidious calmly commanded.

It wouldn’t change anything for one simple reason. People will say anything when their life is on the line, and nothing lines up. For starters, Palpatine is currently sat in a chair restrained after being captured on Dooku’s orders by Grievous. The question is why would Palpatine leave himself this vulnerable if he was the Dark Lord?

There’s no real reason that would actually be all that compelling for Anakin to both believe and act on that information. Dooku most likely recognized all of this in the moments before his shoulders were relieved of his head. Thinking over any escape, but looking up to his successor, Hersquo;d been outplayed. Allowed to think he was more than a pawn that would be disposed of, but in that moment, He recognized what his position was—a placeholder.

For the last three years, he has continuously lied and abused trust for the advancement of his agenda. No one, especially not Anakin, is gonna take his word over Palpatine.

The man was smart enough to recognize this and simply knew that his fate depended on Anakin. A man he had battled several times, even claiming his arm. Dooku recognized what a real Jedi would do but also recognized he and Anakin came from a similar class of Jedi the ones doomed to fall by their need to act. Dooku had given all the reason that Anakin would ever need to act. Palpatine just gave him the push he needed to carry out what he wanted to do to some extent.