From surreal Music Dance Experiences to spaces overflowing with baby goats, *Severance* is a wonderfully bizarre series. However, nothing in the show quite rivals the peculiar nature of the legendary waffle party.
### What is the waffle party?
The waffle party serves as Lumon’s reward for the Refiner of the Quarter, a title Dylan (portrayed by Zach Cherry) receives as part of the Innies’ plot to escape in Season 1. To collect his reward, Dylan goes to a replica of Kier Eagan’s residence in the Perpetuity Wing, where he indulges in a pile of waffles. But the experience doesn’t conclude there — he’s then treated to a suggestive dance performance by four individuals dressed as the Four Tempers: Woe, Dread, Frolic, and Malice. The message is unmistakable: the waffle party isn’t merely a food-centric reward; it also embodies a sexually charged ritual.
### Revisiting the waffle party
Director Ben Stiller and actor Adam Scott reminisced about the waffle party during the January 15 episode of *The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott*, alongside guest John Turturro. For Stiller, the waffle party — a notion introduced by *Severance* creator and showrunner Dan Erickson — represented a crucial moment in the series’ trajectory.
“It’s almost one of the first questions we had to address that we’d presented,” Stiller remarked. “You could continuously ponder, ‘What exactly is a waffle party?’ But we had to find a way to depict it.”
The task then shifted to determining how far *Severance* could explore the limits of the waffle party. How could the series express its provocative essence without alienating the audience?
### Crafting the waffle party’s surreal aesthetic
A portion of the answer lay in the stylized portrayal of the scene. Choreographer Tara Rodriguez, who also contributed to the Music Dance Experience in the “Defiant Jazz” episode, crafted the dance, while Penko Platikanov designed the masks worn by the performers. Among these masks was one of Kier Eagan, which Dylan dons while reclining on a replica of Eagan’s bed. This specific detail caught Stiller’s attention when he rewatched the episode.
“I hadn’t seen [episode] 8 in a while, and for a moment, I had forgotten that Dylan had the Kier Eagan mask waiting for him on the bed,” Stiller shared. “Not having revisited it for a couple of years… We truly embraced the oddity of this entire ritual.”
### Behind the scenes of the waffle party
The waffle party scene was shot in Yonkers, New York, at a house associated with the Hudson River Museum. It was the last scene filmed in the Kier Eagan replica home, with filming concluding around 1 or 2 a.m. due to a strict timeline — the venue was scheduled for use by *The Gilded Age* the next day.
Even though Adam Scott had completed his scenes, he remained to witness the waffle party take place. “It was phenomenal,” he said. “[The dancers] were incredibly precise. It was truly impressive.”
### The deeper meaning of the waffle party
For Scott and Turturro, the waffle party carried deeper implications as an unusual form of “reward” for the Innies, whose lives at Lumon lack affection or intimacy.
“Since the whole environment and culture of Lumon lack any warmth or anything even remotely sexual, but these are feelings that all of [the Innies] likely possess and don’t comprehend, this becomes the ultimate reward,” Scott elaborated.
Turturro commented, “If you’re deprived of any form of connection, rituals gain a heightened significance.”
### What’s next for *Severance*?
As audiences eagerly anticipate more of Lumon’s unraveling secrets, *Severance* Season 2 is scheduled to debut on January 17 on Apple TV+, with new episodes released weekly.