diff --git a/static/player/episodes/nav.ts b/static/player/episodes/nav.ts
index c61d3ca..b5fcc44 100644
--- a/static/player/episodes/nav.ts
+++ b/static/player/episodes/nav.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { updateQualityOptions } from '../quality';
 import { updateModeButtons } from '../mode';
 import { updateOverlay, isAutoplayEnabled, switchEpisodeRange } from './ui';
 import { markEpisodeTransition } from '../progress';
+import { safeLocalStorage } from '../storage';
 
 /**
  * Handles video end: either marks complete or loads next episode.
@@ -71,7 +72,7 @@ export const goToNextEpisode = async (): Promise<void> => {
     state.container.dataset.startTimeSeconds = String(state.startTimeSeconds);
 
     // load new video (keep preferences)
-    const preferredQuality = localStorage.getItem('mal:preferred-quality') || 'best';
+    const preferredQuality = safeLocalStorage.getItem('mal:preferred-quality') || 'best';
     state.video.src = `${state.streamURL}?mode=${encodeURIComponent(fallback)}&token=${encodeURIComponent(state.modeSources[fallback].token)}${preferredQuality !== 'best' ? `&quality=${encodeURIComponent(preferredQuality)}` : ''}`;
     state.video.load();
     if (!state.video.paused) {
diff --git a/static/player/episodes/ui.ts b/static/player/episodes/ui.ts
index 62921f2..6bc984c 100644
--- a/static/player/episodes/ui.ts
+++ b/static/player/episodes/ui.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { state } from '../state';
 import { qs } from '../../q';
+import { safeLocalStorage } from '../storage';
 
 /**
  * Syncs autoplay checkbox with localStorage on init.
@@ -8,11 +9,11 @@ import { qs } from '../../q';
 export const setupAutoplayButton = (): void => {
   const btn = document.querySelector('[data-autoplay]') as HTMLInputElement | null;
   if (!btn) return;
-  btn.checked = localStorage.getItem('mal:autoplay-enabled') !== 'false';
+  btn.checked = safeLocalStorage.getItem('mal:autoplay-enabled') !== 'false';
 };
 
 export const isAutoplayEnabled = (): boolean =>
-  localStorage.getItem('mal:autoplay-enabled') !== 'false';
+  safeLocalStorage.getItem('mal:autoplay-enabled') !== 'false';
 
 /**
  * Updates video overlay text (shown briefly on episode change).
diff --git a/static/player/main.ts b/static/player/main.ts
index 6272cff..c9acf53 100644
--- a/static/player/main.ts
+++ b/static/player/main.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { resolveActiveSegments, renderSegments } from './skip/segments';
 import { setupSegmentEditor } from './skip/editor';
 import { setupThumbnails } from './episodes/thumbnails';
 import { markEpisodeTransition, setupProgress } from './progress';
+import { safeLocalStorage } from './storage';
 import {
   absoluteTimeFromDisplay,
   absoluteTimeFromRatio,
@@ -20,7 +21,8 @@ import {
 } from './timeline';
 import { formatTime } from './controls';
 
-let initialized = false; // prevent double init on htmx swaps
+let currentContainer: HTMLElement | null = null;
+let cleanup: (() => void) | null = null;
 
 type ClosableDropdown = HTMLElement & { close: () => void };
 const isClosableDropdown = (el: Element | null): el is ClosableDropdown => {
@@ -45,6 +47,12 @@ const showPreviewPopover = (): void => {
   state.previewPopover.classList.add('opacity-100');
 };
 
+const teardownPlayer = (): void => {
+  cleanup?.();
+  cleanup = null;
+  currentContainer = null;
+};
+
 // updates time preview on progress bar hover
 const updatePreviewUI = (ratio: number): void => {
   const progressWrap = state.container.querySelector('[data-progress-wrap]') as HTMLElement | null;
@@ -75,20 +83,25 @@ const updatePreviewUI = (ratio: number): void => {
 
 const initPlayer = (): void => {
   const container = document.querySelector('[data-video-player]') as HTMLElement | null;
-  if (!container || initialized) return;
+  if (!container) return;
+  if (container === currentContainer) return;
+  teardownPlayer();
 
   if (!initState(container)) {
     console.error('Video player markup is missing required controls.');
     return;
   }
-  initialized = true;
+  currentContainer = container;
+  const abortController = new AbortController();
+  const signal = abortController.signal;
+  cleanup = () => abortController.abort();
 
   const loading = container.querySelector('[data-loading]') as HTMLElement | null;
   const progressWrap = container.querySelector('[data-progress-wrap]') as HTMLElement | null;
 
   // build video src from mode, token, and saved quality preference
   // Only set if not already provided by the inline script during HTML parsing
-  const preferredQuality = localStorage.getItem('mal:preferred-quality') || 'best';
+  const preferredQuality = safeLocalStorage.getItem('mal:preferred-quality') || 'best';
   const streamToken = state.modeSources[state.currentMode]?.token;
   if (!state.video.src && streamToken) {
     state.video.src = `${state.streamURL}?mode=${encodeURIComponent(state.currentMode)}&token=${encodeURIComponent(streamToken)}${preferredQuality !== 'best' ? `&quality=${encodeURIComponent(preferredQuality)}` : ''}`;
@@ -146,7 +159,7 @@ const initPlayer = (): void => {
     updateSkipButton(state.video.currentTime);
   };
 
-  state.video.addEventListener('loadedmetadata', onLoadedMetadata);
+  state.video.addEventListener('loadedmetadata', onLoadedMetadata, { signal });
   // inline script runs during HTML parsing before initPlayer; if metadata
   // already loaded, fire the handler immediately
   if (state.video.readyState >= HTMLMediaElement.HAVE_CURRENT_DATA) {
@@ -157,27 +170,27 @@ const initPlayer = (): void => {
     if (loading) {
       loading.style.display = 'flex';
     }
-  });
+  }, { signal });
   state.video.addEventListener('playing', () => {
     if (loading) {
       loading.style.display = 'none';
     }
-  });
+  }, { signal });
   // update progress bar during buffering
   state.video.addEventListener('progress', () => {
     updateTimeline(state.video.currentTime);
-  });
+  }, { signal });
 
   // main loop: update progress, subtitles, skip buttons
   state.video.addEventListener('timeupdate', () => {
     updateTimeline(state.video.currentTime);
     updateSubtitleRender(displayTimeFromAbsolute(state.video.currentTime));
     updateSkipButton(state.video.currentTime);
-  });
+  }, { signal });
 
   state.video.addEventListener('ended', () => {
     goToNextEpisode();
-  });
+  }, { signal });
 
   // click/drag to seek (pointer events are more consistent across fullscreen/mobile)
   progressWrap?.addEventListener('pointerdown', e => {
@@ -194,20 +207,20 @@ const initPlayer = (): void => {
     updateTimeline(state.video.currentTime);
     updateSkipButton(state.video.currentTime);
     showControls();
-  });
+  }, { signal });
 
   // hover to preview time
   progressWrap?.addEventListener('pointermove', e => {
     const rect = progressWrap.getBoundingClientRect();
     updatePreviewUI(Math.max(0, Math.min(1, (e.clientX - rect.left) / rect.width)));
-  });
+  }, { signal });
 
-  progressWrap?.addEventListener('pointerleave', hidePreviewPopover);
+  progressWrap?.addEventListener('pointerleave', hidePreviewPopover, { signal });
   progressWrap?.addEventListener('pointerup', () => {
     // ensure we finish the seek even if no window mousemove fired
     if (!progressWrap) return;
     state.isScrubbing = false;
-  });
+  }, { signal });
 
   // dragging outside progress bar while scrubbing
   window.addEventListener('pointermove', e => {
@@ -218,7 +231,7 @@ const initPlayer = (): void => {
     );
     updateTimeline(state.video.currentTime);
     updateSkipButton(state.video.currentTime);
-  });
+  }, { signal });
 
   // track next-episode links outside the player so they start fresh after finishing an episode
   document.addEventListener('click', e => {
@@ -234,9 +247,9 @@ const initPlayer = (): void => {
     const nextEpisode = Number.parseInt(url.searchParams.get('ep') ?? '1', 10);
     const currentEpisode = Number.parseInt(state.currentEpisode, 10);
     if (nextEpisode === currentEpisode + 1) markEpisodeTransition(nextEpisode);
-  });
+  }, { signal });
 
-  state.video.addEventListener('click', showControls);
+  state.video.addEventListener('click', showControls, { signal });
 
   const searchInput = document.querySelector('[data-episode-search]') as HTMLInputElement | null;
   const dropdown = document.querySelector('[data-episode-dropdown]') as HTMLElement | null;
@@ -265,7 +278,7 @@ const initPlayer = (): void => {
           updateEpisodeHighlight(clamped);
         }
       }, 300);
-    });
+    }, { signal });
   }
 
   // range buttons (100s of episodes)
@@ -276,7 +289,7 @@ const initPlayer = (): void => {
         switchEpisodeRange(idx);
         const dd = btn.closest('ui-dropdown');
         if (isClosableDropdown(dd)) dd.close();
-      });
+      }, { signal });
     });
   }
 
@@ -293,3 +306,10 @@ document.body.addEventListener('htmx:afterSwap', (e: Event) => {
   const target = (e as CustomEvent).detail?.target as HTMLElement | null;
   if (target?.querySelector('[data-video-player]')) initPlayer();
 });
+
+document.body.addEventListener('htmx:beforeSwap', (e: Event) => {
+  const target = (e as CustomEvent).detail?.target as HTMLElement | null;
+  if (target && currentContainer && target.contains(currentContainer)) {
+    teardownPlayer();
+  }
+});
diff --git a/static/player/mode.ts b/static/player/mode.ts
index 6f903f9..e7bcbe5 100644
--- a/static/player/mode.ts
+++ b/static/player/mode.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { displayTimeFromAbsolute } from './timeline';
 import { showControls } from './controls';
 import { updateSubtitleOptions } from './subtitles';
 import { updateQualityOptions } from './quality';
+import { safeLocalStorage } from './storage';
 
 // builds stream URL with mode, token, and optional quality param
 const streamUrlForMode = (mode: string, quality?: string): string => {
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ const loadVideo = (url: string): void => {
 export const switchMode = (mode: string): void => {
   if (!state.availableModes.includes(mode) || mode === state.currentMode) return;
   state.currentMode = mode;
-  localStorage.setItem('player-audio-mode', mode);
+  safeLocalStorage.setItem('player-audio-mode', mode);
   const qualitySelect = state.container.querySelector(
     '[data-quality-select]'
   ) as HTMLSelectElement | null;
@@ -91,7 +92,7 @@ export const setupMode = (): void => {
 
   const autoplayBtn = document.querySelector('[data-autoplay]') as HTMLInputElement | null;
   autoplayBtn?.addEventListener('change', e => {
-    localStorage.setItem(
+    safeLocalStorage.setItem(
       'mal:autoplay-enabled',
       (e.target as HTMLInputElement).checked ? 'true' : 'false'
     );
diff --git a/static/player/quality.ts b/static/player/quality.ts
index 425b323..2acc633 100644
--- a/static/player/quality.ts
+++ b/static/player/quality.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { state } from './state';
 import { displayTimeFromAbsolute } from './timeline';
+import { safeLocalStorage } from './storage';
 
 // same as mode.ts - could be extracted to shared util
 const streamUrlForMode = (mode: string, quality?: string): string => {
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@ const loadVideo = (url: string): void => {
 export const switchQuality = (quality: string): void => {
   const url = streamUrlForMode(state.currentMode, quality);
   if (!url) return;
-  localStorage.setItem('mal:preferred-quality', quality);
+  safeLocalStorage.setItem('mal:preferred-quality', quality);
   loadVideo(url);
 };
 
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@ export const updateQualityOptions = (): void => {
   });
 
   // restore saved preference
-  const preferred = localStorage.getItem('mal:preferred-quality') || 'best';
+  const preferred = safeLocalStorage.getItem('mal:preferred-quality') || 'best';
   select.value = qualities.includes(preferred) ? preferred : 'best';
 
   // hide if no quality options
diff --git a/static/player/skip/index.ts b/static/player/skip/index.ts
index 3f0256d..fa0142b 100644
--- a/static/player/skip/index.ts
+++ b/static/player/skip/index.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { state } from '../state';
 import { displayTimeFromAbsolute, absoluteTimeFromDisplay } from '../timeline';
 import { showControls } from '../controls';
 import { saveProgress } from '../progress';
+import { safeLocalStorage } from '../storage';
 
 // button label based on segment type
 const skipLabel = (type: string): string => (type === 'ed' ? 'Skip outro' : 'Skip intro');
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ export const updateSkipButton = (currentTime: number): void => {
   }
 
   // auto-skip: jump to end if enabled
-  const autoSkip = localStorage.getItem('mal:autoskip-enabled') === 'true';
+  const autoSkip = safeLocalStorage.getItem('mal:autoskip-enabled') === 'true';
   if (autoSkip && displayTime >= segment.start && displayTime < segment.end) {
     state.video.currentTime = absoluteTimeFromDisplay(segment.end + 0.01);
     void saveProgress();
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ export const updateSkipButton = (currentTime: number): void => {
 export const updateAutoSkipButton = (): void => {
   const btn = document.querySelector('[data-autoskip]') as HTMLInputElement | null;
   if (!btn) return;
-  btn.checked = localStorage.getItem('mal:autoskip-enabled') === 'true';
+  btn.checked = safeLocalStorage.getItem('mal:autoskip-enabled') === 'true';
 };
 
 /**
@@ -59,7 +60,7 @@ export const setupSkip = (): void => {
   document.addEventListener('change', e => {
     const target = e.target as HTMLElement;
     if (target.hasAttribute('data-autoskip')) {
-      localStorage.setItem(
+      safeLocalStorage.setItem(
         'mal:autoskip-enabled',
         (target as HTMLInputElement).checked ? 'true' : 'false'
       );
diff --git a/static/player/state.ts b/static/player/state.ts
index 92becc0..cecd061 100644
--- a/static/player/state.ts
+++ b/static/player/state.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { ModeSource, SkipSegment, SubtitleCue, SubtitleTrack, ActiveSegment } from './types';
 import { q, qs, dataset } from '../q';
+import { safeLocalStorage } from './storage';
 
 export interface PlayerState {
   container: HTMLElement;
@@ -169,7 +170,7 @@ export const initState = (c: HTMLElement): boolean => {
   // resolve initial mode: localStorage > backend default > first available > 'dub'
   const backendInitialMode = dataset(c, 'initialMode') || 'dub';
   state.modeSwitchedFrom = dataset(c, 'modeSwitchedFrom') || '';
-  const storedMode = localStorage.getItem('player-audio-mode');
+  const storedMode = safeLocalStorage.getItem('player-audio-mode');
   const initialMode =
     storedMode && state.availableModes.includes(storedMode) ? storedMode : backendInitialMode;
   const fallbackMode = Object.keys(state.modeSources).find(m => state.modeSources[m]?.token);
diff --git a/static/player/storage.ts b/static/player/storage.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ad6723
--- /dev/null
+++ b/static/player/storage.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+export type StorageLike = Pick<Storage, 'getItem' | 'setItem' | 'removeItem'>;
+
+const getLocalStorage = (): StorageLike | null => {
+  try {
+    return window.localStorage;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+};
+
+export const safeLocalStorage = {
+  getItem(key: string): string | null {
+    const storage = getLocalStorage();
+    if (!storage) return null;
+    try {
+      return storage.getItem(key);
+    } catch {
+      return null;
+    }
+  },
+  setItem(key: string, value: string): void {
+    const storage = getLocalStorage();
+    if (!storage) return;
+    try {
+      storage.setItem(key, value);
+    } catch {
+      // ignore
+    }
+  },
+  removeItem(key: string): void {
+    const storage = getLocalStorage();
+    if (!storage) return;
+    try {
+      storage.removeItem(key);
+    } catch {
+      // ignore
+    }
+  },
+};
+