Count Dooku was among the most powerful Sith Lords in Star Wars, so why didn't he have the yellow eyes that define so many of them? Few Star Wars villains are as instantly recognizable as Sith Lords. Characterized by their dark brooding presence, crimson-red lightsaber blades, black attire, and their signature glowing yellow eyes, the Sith represent the embodiment of the dark side. Throughout Star Wars lore, many infamous Sith Lords like Darth Maul, Darth Vader, and Darth Sidious, are defined by these characteristics. However, one Sith Lord, Count Dooku, is noticeably never depicted with Sith Eyes.
Although the Star Wars prequels portray Dooku as a strong dark side wielder, he lacks the signature glowing gaze of his counterparts. This is puzzling, as Dooku embraces many of the other traits of Sith Lords, from his black visage, dark robes, and sinister curved-hilt red lightsaber. He also demonstrates a great knowledge of the dark side of the Force and its powers, utilizing Sith Lightning and partaking in dark rituals with his master Sidious. If he was the apprentice to the most powerful Sith in history, why was he lacking the most noticeable feature of other Sith Lords?
Both canon and legends provide little acknowledgement of Dooku’s lack of Sith eyes, but his background, and the reasoning why other Sith have them, can offer a suitable explanation. Looking to other Sith, it is apparent that yellow eyes are an outcome of their connection to the dark side and that individuals can fluctuate between having them and not. For many, only when they have truly given in to the dark side, allowing fear, hatred, and anger to consume them, do the eyes manifest. Dooku, however, never fully gives in to the dark side the way the likes of Anakin and Sidious do. Although Dooku soon became powerful in the ways of the Sith, adopting the title Darth Tyranus, his years of Jedi training allowed him to properly control his emotions.
Meanwhile, despite his cruel ways, Dooku’s goals were never dominance of the Force or control of the galaxy. He was, first and foremost, a political idealist of the Separatist movement. And much like how Darth Sidious hid his Sith traits while serving as the face of the Republic, Dooku had to maintain appearances as the legitimate face of the Separatists. He was also a former Jedi Master, and it was only after his disagreement with the council’s arrogance, and the obvious corruption of the Senate, that he left, choosing to reclaim his aristocratic title as Count of Serenno. His goal was primarily to confront the hypocrisy of the Republic; joining Sidious and embracing the dark side was a powerful tool to this end. All of these factors, combined with his aristocratic composure, prevented Dooku from ever truly unleashing a wellspring of brute violence and anger upon his enemies, consequently preventing the yellow eyes from manifesting.
In contrast to this, Anakin Skywalker develops yellow Sith eyes while slaughtering the Separatist leaders on Mustafar. Moments later, when Padmé arrives, his eyes return to their normal color, and even remain so during his conflicted duel with his former master Obi-Wan. It is only when he is left for dead by Obi-Wan that his hatred evokes the eyes once again, and his former self is quite literally burned away. Additionally, Dooku’s own apprentice, Asajj Ventress, never develops the trait in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Despite wielding the dark side, the former Jedi padawan never fully embodies it the way other Sith could.
Alternatively, many Inquisitors, also fallen Jedi, possess Sith eyes in Star Wars Rebels, due to their intense devotion to the dark side. Most noticeably, Palpatine manages to hide his Sith eyes while serving as Supreme Chancellor, due to his control over his emotions. It is only after his duel with Mace Windu, and conversion of Anakin to the dark side, that Sidious becomes his most powerful and the yellow eyes return, remaining with him for the rest of his life. Unlike Dooku, each of these committed more fully and truly to the dark side. However, it must also be acknowledged that Dooku’s tenure as a Sith was cut short by Anakin. The dark side inevitably corrupts all that embrace it, so one can assume that had Dooku spent more years as a Sith, he could have given in to its grip and eventually developed Star Wars' signature yellow Sith eyes.