In episode two, before interrogating the taxi driver, Smiley goes into a shop and buys some sort of bottle and takes a plastic bag. He later gives it to someone to keep in a safe, saying that its a gift for Ann. What was it actually? I thought I might have missed something and went back to take a look at it, but couldnt find anything special. And I couldnt remember him taking it out later.
shareIt's the cigarettes and negative that he found on Hampstead Heath, isn't it?
shareyeah you're most probably right. later in the episode, you can see him carrying the same plastic bag a little while before he tries to develop the negative. Although you dont see him taking the negative and the cigarette pack out of the plastic bag.
shareYeah it shows him putting them in the box and wrapping the gift in the back of the cab (I believe it was the cab, I know he was in the back seat of a car). What he was buying at the gift shop was the wrapping paper.
shareHe did that because the motorcycle man was following him, before he knew he was Enderby's man.
shareCome on sport, where's your tradecraft? The packet of cigarettes containing the negative that the General hid in a tree had already cost one life. Smiley was being extremely cautious and cached it, having first wrapped it and put it in a carrier bag bought at a stationer's shop. He then travelled across London to interview Willem(?) the lorry driver and only later retrieved it from the hotel's safe.He makes a contact print himself, notwithstanding that the Service had trusted photographic specialists. He does this for reasons of security. Having made the contact print he dozes off after a nervous, exhausting day. He wakes up, examines the print that has dried over an electric fire and recognised THE TRUE SIGNIFICANCE of what he sees.
That's enough for now. Have a refreshment!
Tsk, tsk. You all forgot that George also put the letter he got from the postman in the box too. He also knew that the motorcyclist was from the Circus (ref. his remark leaving Villam's house).
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