Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-29752445-20170415172945/@comment-1327106-20180811232058

Be careful outside of the anime subforum, because we allow spoilers in all other topics. You should get the answer eventually, though it's more of a put two and two together than spelled out sort of answer.

That said...

Here's my take and there are spoilers because your questions are impossible to answer without them:

WhiteOni wrote: But my question is... Why does Rod Reis allow Kenny/interior squad to threaten him and kill Historia's mother and almost Historia herself? Isn't he the KING? He was there to get them to safety right? But then Kenny says they have to die... What authority does he have, Couldn't Rod just tell him to go away and get them to safety? Does Rodd havy any power as king? I just don't understand why he tries to save them and then let the mother die... Will this get explained later why Rod seems to have no real power over his men? :S

Rod is not that powerful. The king's authority comes from possession of the Founding Titan. Rod does not have that Titan. He is king simply because he's the only remaining member of the Reiss family until Historia is brought back into the fold.

At the time the flashback happens, the last king and possessor of the Founding Titan had recently been killed, leaving Rod as the de facto king, but without the Titan (due to circumstances that will be shown later). The inner circle of the government is well aware of who the last real king was and that it's not Rod.

This is likely why they are able to bully Rod around, because all he can say is that he's from the royal family, but it's like a king without a crown. He's not the whole package.

If he's doing a good job, sure, they'll like him just fine, but they aren't afraid of him because he's just a guy from the right family rather than the real deal.