Scandal's Scott Foley Doesn't Like Jake and Olivia's Couple Name Either, But They Have "Really Good" Stuff Ahead

Exclusive: The TGIT leading man admitted he received "a lot of hate on Twitter" after a steamy promo for the show's midseason premiere was released

As far as mashed-up couple names go, "Olake" isn't exactly the best, now is it?

Yet, that seems to be the go-to name for Scandal's Olivia (Kerry Washington) and Jake (Scott Foley), even though Scott Foley admitted to E! News when we sat down with him at the Savannah College of Art and Design's aTVfest television festival in Atlanta that even he doesn't love the 'ship name.

"It shouldn't!" Foley agreed with us when we told him that "Olake" doesn't roll off our tongues, before offering up another potential name: "Jolivia?" (Eh, we'll sleep on it and get back to you, Foley!)

Still, undecided name aside, Jake and Olivia will most definitely be together when Scandal returns on Thursday night, which will jump six months ahead and finds the pair getting quite hot and heavy. (Oh my, that promo!)

When we asked about Jake and Olivia's hot makeout, Foley tried to play coy, asking us, "What do you think about that promo? Is it a dream sequence? Is it a flashback? That's what a lot of people are saying!" (And by "a lot of people," the actor might mean Olivia and Fitz [Tony Goldwyn] fans, as Foley admitted, "there was a lot of hate on Twitter" after the promo was released.)

While we've confirmed that the scene is definitely not a dream sequence or flashback, Foley would only tease that fans will see a completely new dynamic between Olivia and Jake in the second half of the season. "I'm really enjoying the intricacies of their relationship now as an actor," he said. "It's a totally different relationship with Olivia than it has ever been before."

Still, we had to let Foley know we were a little disappointed with the way Olivia treated Jake in the first half of the season, while she was with Fitz. And we were kind of annoyed with Jake for letting himself be treated that way. Come on, play a little hard to get, Jake!

"Look, it's the old 'I can't quit you' line," Foley said. "There are those people in your life who you will always forgive. And I don't know if Jake's done that but, Olivia would have to do a whole hell of a lot for Jake not to forgive her. They went to an island together and she told him, 'I'm in love with another man,' and he said, 'That's OK! Let's go to an island!' It gives you a window into Jake's feelings about her."

However, he stressed that Team Jake will not be disappointed with the pair in the midseason premiere, saying, "It's going to be good. It's going to be really, really good."

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.