I actually did not read Tinker Tailor yet, but several others, including the finale: He still plays along the dirty lines of spycraft, which are at odds with "

I actually did not read Tinker Tailor yet, but several others, including the finale: He still plays along the dirty lines of spycraft, which are at odds with "decent human being" quite often. Spoileralert for the next paragraph: With the finale of Smiley blackmailing a - by all accounts of the spys observing him, a very nice guy - into cooperation. Then blackmailing a father to change sides, otherwise his psychological ill daughter will have to leave her Swiss sanatorium and face Russia, which meant Sibiria as she would have been classified as dissident and not ill (she was both). Ok, the father was Karla, the cruel head of the KGB's 13. very black Division. Smileys antagonist. Who did this and worse things all the time. So Smiley finally beat him, by becoming him. That I call plying along. And he does so very aware of it and hard on himself.