Of the many things that can be said about John Le Carré’s George Smiley series — and there is a lot to be said — the overarching lesson is how you can never really “win” at espionage.
Oh sure, you can occasionally foil the enemy, maybe draw some large gains or uncover revelations. Espionage helps win war when an actual war is going on. But when war is fought in the shadows — and the Cold War most certainly was — one’s never going to come out on top.
This is a gradual buildup to the final confrontation between Smiley and Karla, two legendary agent runners on opposite sides of the wall, Berlin or otherwise. It makes me want to go back and retroactively dock An Honourable Schoolboy a full star because while I enjoyed that one, it’s time wasting when compared to this.
I’ve said it in other places and will say it here: I’m not much of a fan of George Smiley. I don’t like self-pitying characters that many admire. If espionage fiction is a fantasy of competence, then there really is no greater fantasy than the phlegmatic, dour Smiley somehow outwitting all of his enemies (if he indeed does that, which you will have to read to find out).
And that’s why I really loved the ending BECAUSE…
(spoilers)
Smiley is doomed to live a trapped existence. Yes he “defeated” Karla, such as it were. But the man will at least have his freedom and his daughter, even if he has to surrender his principles. Smiley is left with nothing more than a lowly, cold existence tucked away in London with his philandering wife and no child. His only usefulness is when the Circus is in dire straits and he’ll be called back to clean up a mess. Otherwise, he’s a man of misery.
To be clear: I don’t DISLIKE Smiley and I didn’t wish bad things on his character. But I think it’s an ending that proves the point: no one wins the spy game. A trail of bodies can’t keep score.