Timeless: Ian Fleming meets trio in clip

What are you supposed to do when you meet the mind behind 007 in the flesh? Try not to freak out.

Just watch Wyatt (Matt Lanter) and Lucy (Abigail Spencer) in the exclusive clip below from Timeless‘ fourth episode, “Party at Castle Varlar,” in which the pair can barely contain their excitement. The hour introduces the time team to Ian Fleming (Once Upon a Time‘s Sean Maguire), who served as a British spy in Germany during World War II before going on to pen the James Bond novels.

Though they’re impressed by him, Ian’s not too keen on the trio. “I was in the middle of gathering intel until you two waltzed in,” he says. “I swear, you Americans, you couldn’t stand out more if you tried.”

Then Rufus (Malcolm Barrett) barges in. “I stand corrected,” Fleming sighs.

Adds Kripke: “We knew we couldn’t just do a war movie, so where we landed was, ‘Alright, let’s do a spy movie then.’ We were thrilled [to learn Fleming was a spy in World War II], because we realized our World War II story was really a James Bond movie.” He laughs. “And we had the real James Bond!”

Watch the clip below. Timeless airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.