Palpatine successfully overthrew the Republic in the Star Wars prequels, and the death of his apprentice, Count Dooku, was always part of his plan. Palpatine, secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, was a brilliant and Machiavellian tactician who pitted portions of the galaxy against each other, pulling the strings of both sides as he gradually subjugated worlds under Sith rule.
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