A "shocked" reaction image of streamer Flight (FlightReacts) has been rapidly deteriorating in TikTok comment sections over the past month, so much so that internet users now have to rely on pattern recognition to identify it.

The trend is being called the "Flight Pattern Recognition Meme" because, without the proper context, an ignorant internet user might find themself staring at a drawing of two lines under a viral video and be left wondering what it means.

Many online have compared this Flight meme to the famous "Loss" meme, which experienced a similar minimalist mutation earlier in internet history.

So, how did we get here? Where did the original "Flight Pattern Recognition Meme" come from, and why is it spreading so oddly? Let's explain.

Where Did The 'Shocked Flight Reaction Image' Meme Come From?

The base image of this trend shows streamer Flight in a two-panel format. On the left side, he's seen looking at his screen with his eyes open wide, expressing that he's surprised.

On the right side, he turns to look at the viewer with the same expression, like he's searching for some acknowledgement of his shock and trying to relate to the viewer's own reaction.

Some online have pointed out that the image is structurally similar to the "Confused Nick Young" meme, which possesses the same emotion as a reaction image.

The screencaps of Flight were sourced from a 2024 clip of him reacting to an IShowSpeed video in which Speed is talking about science in the clip, specifically about the cycle between the states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.

Flight was shocked by Speed's words, and a common caption given to the clip was "Flight made Speed look smart."

The confusing part about this origin is the red-pink background seen behind Flight in the most commonly used version of the two-panel meme. It was seemingly added by some TikTok clipper in 2025, as seen in similar Flight clips shared in August 2025.

That month, the "Shocked Flight Reaction Image" began appearing in TikTok comment sections. Unfortunately, due to the ephemeral nature of TikTok's comment sections, the image's exact origin has not yet been discovered.

@bluntreacts Flight just be believing anything😭😭#flightreacts #flight #ishow #ishowspeedclipz #ishowmeat🍖 #flighttakesbreakmidvideo #photosynthesis ♬ original sound – bluntreacts

Where Did The 'Flight Pattern Recognition Meme' Come From?

Heading into September 2025, the "Shocked Flight Reaction Image" spread within TikTok comment sections. In the early part of that month, it seemed like every comment section had the image in it.

By late September, two variations of the meme surfaced. One was a hand-drawn pencil drawing, which humorously gave the image a real-world, fourth-wall-breaking feel.

The second took that idea further. It showed a clay mold of Flight's head turning to look at the viewer across two panels. Both images helped springboard further iterations that reduced the format to even simpler forms.

The creators of each image are also unknown. They likely first shared them in a comment section somewhere in the depths of TikTok's content base, obscured from the main avenues of meme research. They obviously resonated with people, though, and were saved to camera rolls and spread further by others.

How Is The 'Flight Pattern Recognition Meme' Similar To 'Loss?'

In the 2010s, there was a meme called "Loss," which is arguably one of the most important memes of all time because of the way it subverted meme formats.

The original image is a webcomic, a part of the series Ctrl+Alt+Del, which had a corny premise about the main character rushing into a hospital. The heavy subject matter hilariously contrasted the "gamer humor" theme of the series.

It was routinely mocked in memes across social media, eventually leading to a group psychosis online. People started seeing Loss everywhere and began asking, "Is this Loss?" when they saw objects fitting into the four-panel format unexpectedly.

The popularity of the Loss meme sparked other so-called "Losslikes," which is a genre of simulacrum image memes in which the central joke involves recognizing a shape or pattern from another piece of pop culture in an unexpected context.

Notably, "Piper Perri Surrounded" got Lossified and the Among Us fandom thought they were going crazy when everything started to look like a crewmate.

Now, the "Flight Pattern Recognition Meme" has been added to the list.

What Are Some More 'Flight Pattern Recognition Memes'?

---

For the full history of Flight Pattern Recognition Meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.