diff --git a/tl/src/tl/views.cljs b/tl/src/tl/views.cljs
index 2aaf21f..99b56bb 100644
--- a/tl/src/tl/views.cljs
+++ b/tl/src/tl/views.cljs
@@ -39,13 +39,14 @@
           target (-> (- px (/ (.-clientWidth el) 2)) (max 0) (min max-sl))]
       (set! (.-scrollLeft el) target))))
 
+;; Moving the playhead = seeking the video. The video is the single clock
+;; (video-monitor's rAF reads currentTime back into :playhead), so we never
+;; write :playhead directly — we just move the video and let it report back.
 (defn- seek-to-frame! [fps frames]
   (when-let [v @video-el]
     (set! (.-currentTime v) (secs frames fps))))
 
-(defn- jump! [fps frame]
-  (rf/dispatch [::events/set-playhead frame])
-  (seek-to-frame! fps frame))
+(defn- jump! [fps frame] (seek-to-frame! fps frame))
 
 (defn- jump-and-scroll!
   "Jump (seek video + move playhead) AND scroll the timeline to center the frame."
@@ -142,28 +143,42 @@
 (.addEventListener js/document "keydown" on-keydown)
 
 (defn video-monitor
-  "Native-controls <video> that acts as the playback clock: while it's playing,
-  a requestAnimationFrame loop pushes currentTime (as frames) into :playhead.
-  Also syncs on seek/pause so scrubbing (native controls or the timeline) moves
-  the playhead. Sized by CSS (.video-pane video) to fit its pane."
+  "Native-controls <video>, which is the single playback clock AND the single
+  seek target. One always-on requestAnimationFrame copies its currentTime (as
+  frames) into :playhead whenever it changes — covering playback, native-control
+  scrubbing, jumps and timeline scrubs alike, with no per-event bookkeeping.
+
+  The element is captured into `video-el` (shared with seek-to-frame!) by a
+  stable ref that ignores nil — an *inline* ref closure is re-created every
+  render and React can call it with nil, which is what left video-el nil and
+  made both the clock read and the seek write silently no-op."
   [fps]
-  (let [raf (atom nil)
-        push! (fn [] (when-let [v @video-el]
-                       (rf/dispatch [::events/set-playhead (* (.-currentTime v) fps)])))
-        tick (fn tick [] (push!) (reset! raf (js/requestAnimationFrame tick)))
-        stop (fn [] (when @raf (js/cancelAnimationFrame @raf) (reset! raf nil)))]
-    (fn [_fps]
-      [:video {:src       media-src
-               :controls  true
-               :preload   "auto"
-               ;; Keep playback inline on iOS instead of jumping to fullscreen.
-               :plays-inline       true
-               :webkit-playsinline "true"
-               :ref       (fn [node] (reset! video-el node))
-               :on-play   (fn [_] (reset! following? true)
-                                  (rf/dispatch [::events/set-playing true])  (stop) (tick))
-               :on-pause  (fn [_] (rf/dispatch [::events/set-playing false]) (stop) (push!))
-               :on-seeked (fn [_] (push!))}])))
+  (let [raf      (atom nil)
+        seen     (atom nil)                   ; last currentTime we pushed
+        capture! (fn [n] (when n (reset! video-el n)))  ; stable id; ignore React's nils
+        tick     (fn tick []
+                   (when-let [v @video-el]
+                     (let [t (.-currentTime v)]
+                       (when (not= t @seen)   ; skip churn while paused/idle
+                         (reset! seen t)
+                         (rf/dispatch [::events/set-playhead (* t fps)]))))
+                   (reset! raf (js/requestAnimationFrame tick)))]
+    (r/create-class
+     {:display-name "video-monitor"
+      :component-did-mount    (fn [_] (tick))
+      :component-will-unmount (fn [_] (some-> @raf js/cancelAnimationFrame) (reset! video-el nil))
+      :reagent-render
+      (fn [_fps]
+        [:video {:src       media-src
+                 :controls  true
+                 :preload   "auto"
+                 :ref       capture!
+                 ;; Keep playback inline on iOS instead of jumping to fullscreen.
+                 :plays-inline       true
+                 :webkit-playsinline "true"
+                 :on-play   (fn [_] (reset! following? true)
+                                    (rf/dispatch [::events/set-playing true]))
+                 :on-pause  (fn [_] (rf/dispatch [::events/set-playing false]))}])})))
 
 ;; --- commentary sidebar ---------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -353,9 +368,9 @@
   [content zoom fps off end ev]
   (.preventDefault ev)
   (let [to (fn [clientX]
-             (let [f (ev->frames content clientX zoom fps off end)]
-               (rf/dispatch [::events/set-playhead f])   ; move the red line now
-               (seek-to-frame! fps f)))                  ; and seek the video
+             ;; just seek; the video clock reports back into :playhead (rAF),
+             ;; so the red line and the picture can never disagree
+             (seek-to-frame! fps (ev->frames content clientX zoom fps off end)))
         move (fn [e] (to (.-clientX e)))
         up   (fn up [_]
                (.removeEventListener js/document "mousemove" move)