The Boys Fires A Huge Shot At HBO's The Last Of Us, And It's Hard To Disagree

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Jessie T. Usher as A-Train standing with his shades on in The Boys season 5

Published Apr 22, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT

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Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Boys season 5, episode 4, "King of Hell."

Sheline and Countess Crow were clear parodies of DC's Catwoman and Raven, while The Boys ripped off Fantastic Four's The Thing through Rock Hard, who acted as an obscene version of the Marvel hero. Season 5 continued pulling no punches while teasing other properties, but episode 4 opted to ease off its superhero competitors and go after The Last of Us instead.

The iconic video game franchise made its way onto TV in 2023, becoming one of HBO's biggest hits. While its second season was more divisive, it remains one of the platform's most-watched projects, but The Boys hit it with a harsh reality. During the group's trip to Fort Harmony, they became particularly aggressive towards each other, even more so than usual.

Frenchie was the only one unaffected, believing that inhaling certain spores was making The Boys lash out. Hughie then comedically replied, "Okay, so like The Last of Us?" to which Frenchie replied, "No, that is just The Walking Dead with mushrooms."

While this was little more than a light-hearted joke during The Boys' quest to find V-One, there is actually some truth to this statement. Yes, The Last of Us has a lot of powerful themes and a gripping story, but at its core, it really isn't all that different from The Walking Dead.

The Boys Isn't Completely Wrong About The Last Of Us

Ellie and Joel walk through the woods in The Last of Us season 2

The Last of Us has been rightfully praised for its emotional, atmospheric narrative that shows how humanity reacts when most of the world falls. The dynamic between Joel and Ellie is at the heart of the first game and HBO's first season, which helps it stand out as a critical masterpiece that deserves all its flowers.

However, it's impossible to ignore the similarities to The Walking Dead, beyond the fact that they each contain zombies. First and foremost, they are both character-driven dramas that focus on survivors and the various groups/cults that arise during their respective apocalypses, putting these elements above basic survival.

Both franchises focus on the moral ambiguity of their central characters, as the most important characters in The Last of Us and The Walking Dead have taken human lives, despite not necessarily being bad people. Although TLOU adopted them first, they also both feature unique types of zombies, adding even higher stakes to these horrifying fictional universes.

The Last of Us will officially return for a third season, which is currently expected to premiere in 2027.

Just as The Last of Us borrowed many elements from The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead copied The Last of Us in its Daryl Dixon spinoff by making Daryl and Laurent's relationship somewhat similar to Joel and Ellie's. Ultimately, both IPs are great in their own right, but they definitely share many of the same themes throughout.

The biggest difference between them may be the fact that we know The Last of Us' outbreak was caused by the Cordyceps fungus, whereas The Walking Dead's origins are much more mysterious. Still, that only validates Frenchie's statement even more, proving that The Boys' humorous claim isn't totally inaccurate.

The Boys Season 5, Episode 4 Also Takes On Streaming Services (Including Amazon's)

Sister Sage, Ashley Barrett, and President Calhoun standing in the Seven's conference room in The Boys season 5

Alongside taking shots at The Last of Us, The Boys also decided to go after streaming services during "King of Hell", including Prime Video itself. During a meeting between various Vought members, the group discussed how they could pitch Homelander as God to the public, with various numbers and metrics being used to reach a decision.

This prompts Worm to blurt out, "I'd say it's all about numbers with you suits, but Vought+ never releases any." Clearly, this is The Boys' way of taking a jab at modern streaming platforms, despite airing on one itself. It may simply be a harmless gag, but the scene does reinforce how difficult it can be to measure the success of certain projects.

Often, viewers get upset about their favorite shows getting canceled, which becomes even more frustrating when the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. At least with statistics to highlight that the viewership wasn't great, subscribers may get a better understanding of why these choices are made, but this data isn't always available.

Ironically, The Boys ending in May will change Prime Video forever, as it is one of the platform's flagship shows, making its departure a huge loss. It's not just the memorable characters and thrilling drama people will miss, as The Boys' commentary and parodies of pop culture have made it so iconic.

Thankfully, it continues to tackle these topics on its way out by calling out streaming services despite acknowledging their importance to the current media landscape, hence why this blink-and-you'll-miss-it joke in The Boys season 5 is so effective.