By Tyler Macready
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Krazy-8, otherwise known as Domingo Gallardo Molina (Maximino Arciniega), is an oft overlooked figure from Breaking Bad’s early days. Compared to the heavyweight druglords that come along in later seasons, Krazy-8 kind of seems like the least “krazy” bad guy in the show’s pantheon of psychopaths. So why do people even call him Krazy-8? How did he get that name? It’s not a question a lot of Breaking Bad fans were asking, but it’s a question for which Better Call Call surprisingly provides an answer. The short version is, he gets the nickname for winning at poker. The long answer? Krazy-8 is a master of deception.
In Breaking Bad, Krazy-8 plays a critical part in Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) journey to become Heisenberg. Just to recap, the very first time Walt and Jesse (Aaron Paul) cook together, they try to sell their inaugural batch to Krazy-8, who is Jesse’s distributor. Before his partnership with Walt, Jesse cooked with Krazy-8’s cousin, Emilio (John Koyama) until Hank (Dean Norris) and the DEA raided their lab. Blaming Walt and Jesse for the raid, Emilio detonates their deal with Krazy-8. Unknown to Emilio, Krazy-8 is an informant, and he was the one who tipped the DEA to Emilio’s lab with the intention of scooping up clients after his arrest. Walt is forced to poison both Emilio and Krazy-8 in order to save himself, but Krazy-8 survives, forcing Walt to discover if he has what it takes to close loose ends.
Part of Krazy-8’s effectiveness as a character is how normal he seems. He has an affable nature while he’s Walt’s prisoner. He’s quiet, mild, thoughtful, even a little charming. Unassuming. This isn’t someone who seems like a “Krazy-8;” this is Domingo. He’s able to relate to Walt while in captivity, and he nearly convinces Walt to release him. To quote Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), we temporarily forget that Domingo is “in the game.” We forget he’s bluffing. So does Walt. The only reason Domingo doesn’t escape is because Walt discovers that Domingo snatched up a sharp broken plate piece when Walt fainted earlier. Realizing that he intends to stab Walt to death the moment he’s released, Walt gets the push he needs to kill Domingo. He no longer sees Domingo as an empathetic kid, but as a threat that needs to be eliminated. Walt sees through the bluff – he sees Krazy-8.
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Better Call Saul, being set prior to the events of Breaking Bad, brings Domingo back as a recurring character. Ostensibly, the show is about Jimmy McGill’s slow-burn transformation into fast-talking con lawyer, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). Showrunners Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould also take the opportunity to flesh out other characters from Breaking Bad and add to the worldbuilding of the Salamanca empire and Gus Fring’s (Giancarlo Esposito) rising operation. Before Domingo started his solo operation, he was a low-level dealer for Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz), referred by his family friend, Nacho Varga (Michael Mando). Young and inexperienced, Domingo learns a lot of cartel lessons the hard way working under the Salamancas— first being grievously beaten by Nacho for coming up short on cash, then learning how to dole out the beatings himself.
By season five of Better Call Saul, Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) is in charge of the cartel operation in Albuquerque. It’s Lalo who gives Domingo his nickname, Krazy-8. The night before Domingo gets arrested – and with Saul’s help, flipped into a DEA informant – Domingo wins a hand of poker against Lalo. He wins on a bluff, with one pair of eights, prompting Lalo to call him “Ocho Loco.” Crazy Eight. It is very likely that Domingo’s impressive bluff is what inspires Lalo to make him his double agent with the DEA. Lalo pushes Saul to help Domingo become a DEA informant because he witnessed his deception skills firsthand, so he knows Domingo can play Hank and the rest of the DEA into targeting Fring’s operation. If Lalo didn’t have faith in “Ocho Loco”, he would have just had him killed, so that poker game saved his life.
When Domingo gets out of the Salamanca ring and starts his own venture, he operates under the name given to him by Lalo: Krazy-8. The name is a testament to Domingo's nature as a double-crosser and a deceiver. He’s a convincing actor who bluffs his way to victory, oftentimes with very little weight behind him. Whether he’s playing poker, tricking the DEA, stealing territory, or bargaining for his life, Krazy-8 is always bluffing.
