Life is tough at the White House–even the Shonda Rimes’ version.

TVLine recently had an interview with Scandal cast member Cornelius Smith Jr. The actor plays the gladiator-turned-press-secretary Marcus Walker. Walker’s promotion to press secretary was a shock to most, but Smith promises “We’ll get bits and pieces about how that came to be.”

Like usual, Scandal‘s timeline is a bit hectic and full of–well, scandal. After the president-elect’s assassination (in the premiere episode, mind you), Smith has no problem admitting the rest of the season will follow suit, saying we’re in store for “excitement, but also uncertainty.”

And with all this uncertainty comes his character’s new life as a press secretary. Smith is quoted as saying, “I was shocked. No one had told me anything beforehand, so I discovered it all at the table read. … All I know is that Marcus isn’t really taking part in [the efforts to prove that Cyrus killed Frankie]. I’m not in OPA anymore. My job now is to help run the White House.”

That may be Marcus Walker’s new job, but what about his off-duty interests? TVLine probed the actor about Walker’s new love connection with Mellie, and Smith responded favorably: “I was shocked when I first read about their initial spark, where they first kind of suggested it in the script. I was like, ‘Wow! Oh. OK!’ The interesting thing about Shondaland is that a lot of relationships start quickly, but they also stop quickly. You never know if it’s going to last. There’s a natural curiosity about how far it’s going to go — if it goes anywhere at all.”

Scandal airs Thursday nights on ABC.