fix(plex): Restart only where an episode has a resume point; the Surprise draw is re-read, not redrawn

Show cards carry resumable (ShowState, from the same rollup) so a part-watched
show whose next episode is untouched offers Play, not a Continue and a Restart
that do the same thing; plexStarted is the one rule for cards and menus. The
Surprise rail's key sits under the discover root: whatever refreshes the rails
re-reads the draw (keep=) with its watch state now, kept past the 5-minute gc,
and only the reshuffle deals. Closing the player refreshes the Discover rails.
A show card's play acts on the last click only, and only where it was made.

frontend/src/components/PlexBrowse.playShow.dom.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+// @vitest-environment jsdom
+//
+// A show's card in the Browse grid plays (the owner, 2026-10-09): its picture asks the server which
+// episode and opens the player on it; a started show's Restart opens it from the start; its title
+// opens the show's page. The hook is tested on its own (usePlayShow); this is the grid wiring it.
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeAll, beforeEach, afterEach } from "vitest";
+import { render, screen, fireEvent, cleanup } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+
+vi.mock("react-i18next", async (importOriginal) => ({
+  ...(await importOriginal<typeof import("react-i18next")>()),
+  useTranslation: () => ({ t: (key: string) => key, i18n: { language: "en" } }),
+}));
+vi.mock("./PlexPlayer", () => ({
+  default: ({ itemId, fromStart }: { itemId: string; fromStart?: boolean }) => (
+    <div>
+      player {itemId} {fromStart ? "from the start" : "resumed"}
+    </div>
+  ),
+}));
+vi.mock("./plexViews", async (importOriginal) => ({
+  ...(await importOriginal<typeof import("./plexViews")>()),
+  PlexShowView: ({ showId }: { showId: string }) => <div>show page {showId}</div>,
+}));
+
+import PlexBrowse from "./PlexBrowse";
+import { api, type PlexCard } from "../lib/api";
+
+beforeAll(() => {
+  class Stub {
+    observe() {}
+    unobserve() {}
+    disconnect() {}
+    takeRecords() {
+      return [];
+    }
+  }
+  globalThis.ResizeObserver ??= Stub as unknown as typeof ResizeObserver;
+  globalThis.IntersectionObserver ??= Stub as unknown as typeof IntersectionObserver;
+});
+beforeEach(() => window.history.replaceState({ _sub: { kind: "grid" } }, ""));
+afterEach(() => {
+  cleanup();
+  vi.restoreAllMocks();
+});
+
+const show: PlexCard = {
+  id: "sh",
+  type: "show",
+  title: "Grimm",
+  thumb: "",
+  status: "in_progress",
+  resumable: true,
+};
+
+function mount() {
+  vi.spyOn(api, "plexLibrary").mockResolvedValue({
+    items: [show],
+    total: 1,
+    offset: 0,
+    episodes: [],
+  } as never);
+  const next = vi.spyOn(api, "plexShowNext").mockResolvedValue({
+    next: { id: "e7", type: "episode", title: "Ep 7", thumb: "" },
+  });
+  const qc = new QueryClient({ defaultOptions: { queries: { retry: false } } });
+  render(
+    <QueryClientProvider client={qc}>
+      <PlexBrowse />
+    </QueryClientProvider>,
+  );
+  return { next };
+}
+
+describe("PlexBrowse — a show's card in the grid", () => {
+  it("plays the episode the server names", async () => {
+    const { next } = mount();
+    fireEvent.click(await screen.findByRole("button", { name: "card.continue" }));
+    expect(await screen.findByText("player e7 resumed")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(next).toHaveBeenCalledWith("sh", "en");
+  });
+
+  it("starts that episode over from its Restart", async () => {
+    mount();
+    fireEvent.click(await screen.findByRole("button", { name: "card.restart" }));
+    expect(await screen.findByText("player e7 from the start")).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it("opens the show's page from its title, asking nothing", async () => {
+    const { next } = mount();
+    fireEvent.click(await screen.findByText("Grimm"), { detail: 1 });
+    expect(await screen.findByText("show page sh")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(next).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("opens the show's page from its ⓘ, asking nothing", async () => {
+    const { next } = mount();
+    fireEvent.click(await screen.findByRole("button", { name: "plex.openShow" }));
+    expect(await screen.findByText("show page sh")).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(next).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});

frontend/src/components/PlexBrowse.tsx

@@ -332,6 +332,7 @@ export default function PlexBrowse() {
   const resolveShow = usePlayShow(
     (id, fromStart) => sub.open({ kind: "player", id, fromStart }),
     (id) => sub.open({ kind: "show", id }),
+    sub.view,
   );
   // A show's card plays the episode it resolves to (usePlayShow); the grid's place is kept first.
   function playShow(card: PlexCard, fromStart: boolean) {

frontend/src/components/PlexDiscover.dom.test.tsx

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 // synchronously. The rails scroll inside a Carousel (useHScroll → ResizeObserver), stubbed for jsdom.
 import { describe, it, expect, afterEach, beforeAll, vi } from "vitest";
 import { act, render, screen, fireEvent, cleanup, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
-import { focusManager, QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 
 beforeAll(() => {
   class Stub {
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ vi.mock("../lib/api", () => ({
 }));
 
 import PlexDiscover from "./PlexDiscover";
+import { qk } from "../lib/queryKeys";
+import type { PlexCard } from "../lib/api";
 
 afterEach(() => {
   cleanup();
@@ -157,7 +159,8 @@ describe("PlexDiscover", () => {
       expect.objectContaining({ genres: [] }),
     ]);
     expect(keys).toContainEqual([
-      "plex-surprise",
+      "plex-discover",
+      "surprise",
       "both",
       "en",
       expect.objectContaining({ genres: [] }),
@@ -219,14 +222,24 @@ describe("PlexDiscover", () => {
     await waitFor(() => expect(plexSurprise).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2));
     expect(plexDiscover).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1); // the whole surface was NOT refetched
     // The first draw asks for anything; the redraw hands over the one on screen to deal it last.
-    expect(plexSurprise.mock.calls[0]?.[4]).toEqual([]);
-    expect(plexSurprise.mock.calls[1]?.[4]).toEqual(["sp1"]);
+    expect(plexSurprise.mock.calls[0]?.[4]).toEqual({ exclude: [] });
+    expect(plexSurprise.mock.calls[1]?.[4]).toEqual({ exclude: ["sp1"] });
   });
 
-  // Back from a card's player or page remounts the surface: the draw it left must still be there.
-  it("keeps its draw across a remount and a return to the window; only ↻ redraws", async () => {
+  // Back from a card's player or page remounts the surface: the draw it left must still be there, with
+  // its cards' watch state as it is now. A refetch reads the same titles again; only ↻ deals.
+  it("keeps its draw across a remount, a refresh and a long absence; only ↻ redraws", async () => {
     plexDiscover.mockResolvedValue(fullPayload);
-    plexSurprise.mockResolvedValue({ scope: "both", items: [card("sp1", "Random Pick")] });
+    let status: PlexCard["status"] = "new";
+    plexSurprise.mockImplementation(
+      (_s: string, _l: unknown, _f: unknown, _lang: string, o: { keep?: string[] }) =>
+        Promise.resolve({
+          scope: "both",
+          items: o.keep?.length
+            ? [{ ...card("sp1", "Random Pick"), status }]
+            : [card(plexSurprise.mock.calls.length > 1 ? "sp2" : "sp1", "Pick")],
+        }),
+    );
     const qc = new QueryClient({ defaultOptions: { queries: { retry: false } } });
     const ui = (
       <QueryClientProvider client={qc}>
@@ -241,17 +254,24 @@ describe("PlexDiscover", () => {
       </QueryClientProvider>
     );
     const first = render(ui);
-    await screen.findByText("Random Pick");
+    await screen.findByText("Pick");
     first.unmount();
     render(ui);
     await screen.findByText("Random Pick");
-    act(() => {
-      focusManager.setFocused(false);
-      focusManager.setFocused(true);
+    // Watched from somewhere else: whatever refreshes the rails refreshes the draw's cards too.
+    status = "watched";
+    await act(() => qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.plexDiscover() }));
+    const [entry] = qc.getQueryCache().findAll({ queryKey: qk.plexSurprise() });
+    expect(entry?.state.data).toMatchObject({ items: [{ id: "sp1", status: "watched" }] });
+    // No draw is ever dealt behind the viewer's back: every call after the first reads it again.
+    for (const call of plexSurprise.mock.calls.slice(1)) expect(call[4]).toEqual({ keep: ["sp1"] });
+    // Unobserved past the default five minutes (a film watched from the rail) it is still kept.
+    expect(entry?.options.gcTime).toBe(Infinity);
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "plex.discover.reshuffle" }));
+    await screen.findByText("Pick");
+    expect(plexSurprise.mock.calls[plexSurprise.mock.calls.length - 1]?.[4]).toEqual({
+      exclude: ["sp1"],
     });
-    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 20));
-    expect(plexSurprise).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    focusManager.setFocused(undefined);
   });
 
   it("shows the empty message when every rail is empty", async () => {

frontend/src/components/PlexDiscover.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { type ReactNode } from "react";
+import { useRef, type ReactNode } from "react";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { useQuery, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import { RotateCcw } from "lucide-react";
@@ -120,25 +120,36 @@ export default function PlexDiscover({
     queryFn: () => api.plexDiscover(scope, lang, filters),
   });
   // Surprise-me is its own query so the ↻ button can redraw it without refetching the whole surface.
-  // A redraw hands over the draw on screen, so a small filtered pool deals its other titles first.
+  // A draw stands until the ↻ (or another scope, language or filter) asks for a new one: redrawn on
+  // every refetch, the card just looked at was gone from its rail on Back from the player or a show
+  // page. So a refetch reads the draw on screen again (`keep`: fresh watch state, same titles), and
+  // only the ↻ deals — handing over that draw, so a small filtered pool deals its other titles first.
   const surpriseKey = qk.plexSurprise(scope, lang, filters);
+  const redraw = useRef(false);
   const surpriseQ = useQuery({
     queryKey: surpriseKey,
     queryFn: () => {
-      const shown = qc.getQueryData<{ items: PlexCard[] }>(surpriseKey)?.items ?? [];
+      const shown = (qc.getQueryData<{ items: PlexCard[] }>(surpriseKey)?.items ?? []).map(
+        (c) => c.id,
+      );
+      const deal = redraw.current || shown.length === 0;
+      redraw.current = false;
       return api.plexSurprise(
         scope,
         undefined,
         filters,
         lang,
-        shown.map((c) => c.id),
+        deal ? { exclude: shown } : { keep: shown },
       );
     },
-    // A draw stands until ↻ (or another scope, language or filter) asks for a new one. A stale one was
-    // redrawn on every remount — Back from the player or a show page — and on a return to the window,
-    // so the card just looked at was gone from the rail it came from.
-    staleTime: Infinity,
+    // Kept past the default five minutes unobserved: a film watched from the rail outlasts that, and
+    // a collected draw is a new one.
+    gcTime: Infinity,
   });
+  const reshuffle = () => {
+    redraw.current = true;
+    void surpriseQ.refetch();
+  };
 
   // Watched toggle over BOTH this surface's cache (so a rail card flips instantly) and the surprise
   // list, then persist + resync via the shared helper — invalidating the grid too so it agrees.
@@ -243,7 +254,7 @@ export default function PlexDiscover({
           cards={surprise}
           action={
             <IconButton
-              onClick={() => surpriseQ.refetch()}
+              onClick={reshuffle}
               loading={surpriseQ.isFetching}
               label={t("plex.discover.reshuffle")}
             >

frontend/src/components/PlexMenu.dom.test.tsx

@@ -179,11 +179,18 @@ describe("a Plex title's menu", () => {
   });
 
   it("a started show continues, and starts its episode over from the next row", () => {
-    setup(card({ type: "show", status: "in_progress" }));
+    setup(card({ type: "show", status: "in_progress", resumable: true }));
     rightClick();
     expect(labels().slice(0, 2)).toEqual(["card.continue", "card.restartTitle"]);
   });
 
+  it("a part-watched show with no episode to resume plays, with nothing to start over", () => {
+    setup(card({ type: "show", status: "in_progress", resumable: false }));
+    rightClick();
+    expect(labels()[0]).toBe("plex.play");
+    expect(labels()).not.toContain("card.restartTitle");
+  });
+
   it("the card's '…' opens the same menu, and says so", () => {
     setup(card({}));
     const hoverMore = moreButtons()[0]!;

frontend/src/components/PlexPlayer.session.dom.test.tsx

@@ -232,6 +232,20 @@ it("closing the player detaches the <video> it was playing", async () => {
   expect(v.getAttribute("src")).toBeNull();
 });
 
+it("closing the player refreshes every surface that shows watch state, the Discover rails too", async () => {
+  const { unmount, qc } = mount({
+    details: { A: item("A") },
+    sessions: { A: () => Promise.resolve(direct("A")) },
+  });
+  await waitFor(() => expect(video()?.getAttribute("src")).toBe("/media/A"));
+  const refreshed = vi.spyOn(qc, "invalidateQueries");
+  unmount();
+  const keys = refreshed.mock.calls.map(([f]) => f?.queryKey);
+  expect(keys).toEqual(
+    expect.arrayContaining([qk.plexLibrary(), qk.plexShow(), qk.plexDiscover()]),
+  );
+});
+
 describe("the subtitle poll and notice", () => {
   it("asks about where a resumed session was asked to start, before playback has ticked", async () => {
     const { status } = mount({

frontend/src/components/plexCards.dom.test.tsx

@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ describe("PlexPosterCard with a next episode", () => {
     const onRestart = vi.fn();
     render(
       <PlexPosterCard
-        card={{ ...show, status: "in_progress" }}
+        card={{ ...show, status: "in_progress", resumable: true }}
         onOpen={onOpen}
         onRestart={onRestart}
       />,
@@ -211,6 +211,19 @@ describe("PlexPosterCard with a next episode", () => {
     expect(onOpen).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
   });
 
+  it("plays a part-watched show with no episode to resume, with no Restart beside it", () => {
+    // Its next episode is untouched: Continue and Restart would both play it from its start.
+    render(
+      <PlexPosterCard
+        card={{ ...show, status: "in_progress", resumable: false }}
+        onOpen={vi.fn()}
+        onRestart={vi.fn()}
+      />,
+    );
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("button", { name: "card.restart" })).toBeNull();
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("button", { name: "card.continue" })).toBeNull();
+  });
+
   it("names the episode it would play once its preview is up, and not asked before", async () => {
     vi.useFakeTimers();
     const ask = vi

frontend/src/components/plexCards.tsx

@@ -347,8 +347,7 @@ export function PlexPosterCard({
   const add = isPlayable && onAdd ? () => onAdd(acted) : undefined;
   // The next episode by name: its numbers, or its title when Plex has none for it.
   const nextName = ep && episodeName(ep);
-  // A show without its episode in hand continues where a started one stands (its rollup status).
-  const started = ep ? plexStarted(ep) : isShow ? card.status === "in_progress" : plexStarted(card);
+  const started = plexStarted(ep ?? card);
   const showPage = ep ? onInfo : isShow && onPage ? () => onPage(card) : undefined;
   // A show has no length: its corner says how many seasons it has instead, so the corner alone tells
   // a movie from a show (the film/TV glyph it replaces said the same thing a second time).

frontend/src/components/usePlayShow.dom.test.tsx

@@ -30,12 +30,23 @@ function mount() {
   const qc = new QueryClient({ defaultOptions: { queries: { retry: false } } });
   const play = vi.fn();
   const openShow = vi.fn();
-  const { result } = renderHook(() => usePlayShow(play, openShow), {
-    wrapper: ({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) => (
-      <QueryClientProvider client={qc}>{children}</QueryClientProvider>
-    ),
-  });
-  return { qc, play, openShow, playShow: result.current };
+  const { result, rerender, unmount } = renderHook(
+    ({ here }: { here: unknown }) => usePlayShow(play, openShow, here),
+    {
+      initialProps: { here: "grid" as unknown },
+      wrapper: ({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) => (
+        <QueryClientProvider client={qc}>{children}</QueryClientProvider>
+      ),
+    },
+  );
+  return { qc, play, openShow, playShow: result.current, rerender, unmount };
+}
+
+/** Answers the test hands out one by one, in the order it chooses. */
+function answers() {
+  const pending: ((v: { next: PlexCard | null }) => void)[] = [];
+  vi.spyOn(api, "plexShowNext").mockImplementation(() => new Promise((r) => void pending.push(r)));
+  return pending;
 }
 
 describe("usePlayShow", () => {
@@ -65,6 +76,32 @@ describe("usePlayShow", () => {
     expect(play).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it("acts on the last click only: an earlier, slower answer is dropped", async () => {
+    const pending = answers();
+    const { play, playShow } = mount();
+    const first = playShow({ ...show, id: "a" }, false);
+    const second = playShow({ ...show, id: "b" }, false);
+    await act(async () => pending[1]!({ next: ep("b1") }));
+    await act(async () => pending[0]!({ next: ep("a1") }));
+    await act(() => Promise.all([first, second]));
+    expect(play.mock.calls).toEqual([["b1", false]]);
+  });
+
+  it("drops an answer that lands after the viewer has moved on, or left", async () => {
+    const pending = answers();
+    const { play, openShow, playShow, rerender, unmount } = mount();
+    const moved = playShow(show, false);
+    rerender({ here: "info" });
+    await act(async () => pending[0]!({ next: ep("e1") }));
+    await act(() => moved);
+    expect(play).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    const left = playShow(show, false);
+    unmount();
+    await act(async () => pending[1]!({ next: null }));
+    await act(() => left);
+    expect(openShow).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it("says so when the question fails, and opens nothing", async () => {
     vi.spyOn(api, "plexShowNext").mockRejectedValue(new Error("down"));
     const { play, openShow, playShow } = mount();

frontend/src/components/usePlayShow.ts

@@ -1,19 +1,30 @@
+import { useEffect, useRef } from "react";
 import { useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { api, type PlexCard } from "../lib/api";
 import { qk } from "../lib/queryKeys";
 import { notifyActionError } from "../lib/actionErrors";
 import { plexLang } from "../i18n";
+import { useLatest } from "../lib/useLatest";
 
 /** A show's card plays like any card: the episode in progress, else the first unwatched, else the
  *  first (`/show/{id}/next`). Asked fresh on the click, since the card's preview may hold an answer
  *  from before a watch somewhere else. A show with no episodes has nothing to play, so its page opens
- *  (`openShow`) and says so; a failed question is a toast, and nothing opens. */
+ *  (`openShow`) and says so; a failed question is a toast, and nothing opens.
+ *
+ *  The answer acts only for the LAST click, and only where it was made (`here`, the caller's view): a
+ *  slow answer to a click the viewer has since moved on from (another card, Back, another module)
+ *  would otherwise pull them into a player they no longer asked for. */
 export function usePlayShow(
   play: (episodeId: string, fromStart: boolean) => void,
   openShow: (showId: string) => void,
+  here: unknown,
 ) {
   const qc = useQueryClient();
+  const at = useLatest(here);
+  const asked = useRef(0);
+  // Unmounted, nothing of it may navigate any more.
+  useEffect(() => () => void ++asked.current, []);
   const { t, i18n } = useTranslation();
   const lang = plexLang(i18n.language);
   // `undefined` when the question failed (said in the toast).
@@ -29,8 +40,10 @@ export function usePlayShow(
         (e: unknown) => void notifyActionError(e, t("plex.playShowFailed")),
       );
   return async (show: PlexCard, fromStart: boolean) => {
+    const ask = ++asked.current;
+    const from = at.current;
     const ep = await next(show.id);
-    if (ep === undefined) return;
+    if (ask !== asked.current || at.current !== from || ep === undefined) return;
     if (ep) play(ep.id, fromStart);
     else openShow(show.id);
   };

frontend/src/components/usePlexCardActions.tsx

@@ -39,9 +39,13 @@ export const plexAddLabelKey = (c: PlexCard): string =>
 const isPlexPlayable = (c: PlexCard): boolean => c.type !== "show";
 
 /** Has a resume point: the click continues it, and "from the start" is a choice. A watched item is
- *  stored at 0, so it never counts. */
+ *  stored at 0, so it never counts. A show has one when an episode does (`resumable`, the episode its
+ *  click plays): part watched with its next episode untouched, Continue and Restart would be the same
+ *  thing, so it is not "started" here — its in-progress badge says how far it has got. */
 export const plexStarted = (c: PlexCard): boolean =>
-  isPlexPlayable(c) && c.status !== "watched" && (c.position_seconds ?? 0) > 0;
+  isPlexPlayable(c)
+    ? c.status !== "watched" && (c.position_seconds ?? 0) > 0
+    : c.resumable === true;
 
 /** `open` is the host menu's own flag (the shelf is fetched only once a menu opened). Returns the
  *  item builder, `add` for the card's own hover button, and the dialog to render beside the menu
@@ -78,8 +82,7 @@ export function usePlexCardActions(handlers: PlexActionHandlers, open: boolean)
     const playable = isPlexPlayable(c);
     const isShow = c.type === "show";
     const watched = c.status === "watched";
-    // A show continues where its rollup says it stands, as its card's Continue + Restart do.
-    const started = isShow ? c.status === "in_progress" : plexStarted(c);
+    const started = plexStarted(c);
     return [
       ...(play
         ? [

frontend/src/lib/api/plex.ts

@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ export interface PlexCard {
   status?: string; // new | watched | hidden
   position_seconds?: number;
   season_count?: number | null; // show
+  // show: an unwatched episode holds a resume point (Continue resumes it, Restart replays it)
+  resumable?: boolean;
   season_number?: number | null; // episode
   episode_number?: number | null; // episode
   show_title?: string | null; // episode (in a mixed playlist)
@@ -626,18 +628,20 @@ export const plexApi = {
     if (filters) appendPlexFilters(u, filters);
     return req(`/api/plex/discover?${u.toString()}`);
   },
-  // A fresh random sample for the Surprise-me rail — a new draw every call (the ↻ refetch), narrowed by
-  // the active filters like the other rails. `exclude` is the previous draw: dealt last, not first.
+  // A fresh random sample for the Surprise-me rail — a new draw every call (the ↻), narrowed by the
+  // active filters like the other rails. `exclude` is the previous draw: dealt last, not first. `keep`
+  // asks for no draw at all: those titles again, in that order, with their watch state as it is now.
   plexSurprise: (
     scope: string,
     limit?: number,
     filters?: PlexFilters,
     lang?: string,
-    exclude: string[] = [],
+    { exclude = [], keep = [] }: { exclude?: string[]; keep?: string[] } = {},
   ): Promise<{ scope: string; items: PlexCard[] }> => {
     const u = new URLSearchParams({ scope });
     if (limit) u.set("limit", String(limit));
     for (const id of exclude) u.append("exclude", id);
+    for (const id of keep) u.append("keep", id);
     if (lang === "hu") u.set("lang", "hu");
     if (filters) appendPlexFilters(u, filters);
     return req(`/api/plex/surprise?${u.toString()}`);

frontend/src/lib/plexPlayerHooks.ts

@@ -334,6 +334,8 @@ export function usePlexProgress(opts: {
       finishRef.current = () => {};
       qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.plexLibrary() });
       qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.plexShow() });
+      // The Discover rails (Continue watching, the Surprise draw's cards) hold watch state too.
+      qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: qk.plexDiscover() });
     };
     // absRef/durationRef/videoRef are stable ref objects — listed to satisfy exhaustive-deps without
     // changing when the effect re-runs (id/qc only), matching the original in-component effect.

frontend/src/lib/queryKeys.test.ts

@@ -89,12 +89,13 @@ describe("qk — variadic composite plex keys", () => {
       FILTERS,
     ]);
     expect(qk.plexSurprise("movie", "hu", FILTERS)).toEqual([
-      "plex-surprise",
+      "plex-discover",
+      "surprise",
       "movie",
       "hu",
       FILTERS,
     ]);
-    // A bare call stays a prefix for the reshuffle/watched-toggle invalidations.
-    expect(qk.plexSurprise()).toEqual(["plex-surprise"]);
+    // Under the discover root: whatever refreshes the rails refreshes the draw's cards too.
+    expect(qk.plexSurprise()).toEqual(["plex-discover", "surprise"]);
   });
 });

frontend/src/lib/queryKeys.ts

@@ -123,10 +123,11 @@ export const qk = {
   // refetches it alone.
   plexDiscover: (...rest: unknown[]) => ["plex-discover", ...rest],
   // Variadic like plexDiscover so it can key by scope + lang + the active filters (lang because a genre
-  // filter narrows against the language-specific genre column, like the grid). The ↻ reshuffle is the
-  // query's own refetch, and nothing invalidates this key — deliberately: a watched toggle flips the
-  // card in place (and reverts it on a failure) rather than reshuffle the rail under the viewer.
-  plexSurprise: (...rest: unknown[]) => ["plex-surprise", ...rest],
+  // filter narrows against the language-specific genre column, like the grid). UNDER the discover root,
+  // so whatever refreshes the rails (a watched toggle, a player closing) refreshes this one too: its
+  // refetch reads the same draw again (`keep`), and only the ↻ deals a new one. As a sibling root the
+  // draw's cards kept the watch state they were drawn with.
+  plexSurprise: (...rest: unknown[]) => ["plex-discover", "surprise", ...rest],
   plexSuggest: (...rest: unknown[]) => ["plex-suggest", ...rest],
   // Optional trailing `lang`: a language switch remounts the detail with a new key so HU/EN
   // metadata is cached separately. Omitting it (e.g. for a prefix invalidation) still matches both.