King Asilas is not a man who needs reassurances about the decisions he makes. He is the quintessential leader and does not rest until he completes his mission, and reflects on the costs once his objective is achieved. Which has mustered curiosity by some as to why Quintin Capone is such an important figure in Asilas’s inner circle. The easiest analogy to use when evaluating the situation and the people surrounding the king is the classic game of chess. The king has two bishops, two knights, two rooks, a queen, and two lines of pawns. By episode 4, we already know his queen and who his two bishops are: Quintin Capone and Dr. Ezekiel. These men give the king guidance and he trusts their points of view. Minister Jeremy Oreb falls into the category of a knight because Asilas sends him to meet combatants, terrorists, domestic rebels and other threats with the might of his guns. President Jackson is a rook because he proves to be valuable to the king in terms of public opinion. He also maintains ties to the monster group. We also know who some of his pawns are: Abigail Sierra and Rachel Canaan, but Rachel was likely sacrificed in episode 4. When you look at the characters in the show through this lens, you begin to see how their maneuvering is determined. Each move is calculated with another anticipated by the king.
But how did Quintin Capone, a school chancellor for New York City Public Schools during the second civil war, become the most powerful “right-hand man” of the New Kingdom? The show does not give any clues as to how Capone became so trusted by Asilas. The novel does explain this in detail. Capone was once in the Army and served alongside of Asilas in their early years. Asilas ascended in rank and Capone left the Army due to an injury. They remained friends and stayed in touch over the years. To sum it up, during the war, the United States was in utter chaos -with battlefronts scattered across the entire country. The one place where the civil war was not felt so disruptively was New York City. School children continued to go to school and life was as normal as it could have been during such a tumultuous time. The establishment of Marshall Law at the conclusion of the war by General Asilas enabled school systems to be community hubs for dissemination of information, instructions, basic first aid, and a plethora of social services so people would not have to venture far from their homes during the transitionary period. In a large city like New York, this emergency system kept the enormous population from plunging into utter turmoil. Capone, along with the mayor, reassured everyone life can continue as normal as long as they followed the instructions given by Washington and General Asilas. While cities like Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles experienced great upheaval by a restless and paranoid population, New York was largely controlled and managed to stay peaceful during the government transition period. This decorum by New Yorkers on such a vast scale did not go unnoticed by Capone’s old friend, General Asilas.
When Asilas became king, the first person he asked to join his circle was Quintin Capone. For most, he was an enigmatic figure, but New Yorkers and people in the education field on the east coast knew Capone quite well. He was feared and despised by some, but respected by all. No one wished to cross him professionally or personally. So, to those who knew Capone, they were not nearly surprised to learn he would sit at the right hand of the king. The two men were very like-minded and always seemed to accomplish whatever they put their minds to. Their love and admiration for one another is evident in the way they converse. Capone, a brilliant man in his own right, was too smart to question the king when he knew his mind was made up. And whenever he spoke in contrast to the king’s ideas, he knew it to be wise to bow figuratively and literally. However, Asilas had no siblings and was not very close to many in his family since his days in the Army and Capone became his surrogate brother. He loved Capone for the figurative “brother” he was to him. But in the game of chess, Capone was his bishop and would sacrifice him only if absolutely necessary and only if he knew it would help him win the game.