diff --git a/api/playback/handler.go b/api/playback/handler.go
index 412746c..0eda327 100644
--- a/api/playback/handler.go
+++ b/api/playback/handler.go
@@ -8,10 +8,11 @@ import (
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 
 	"mal/integrations/jikan"
 	ctxpkg "mal/internal/context"
-	"mal/internal/db"
+	database "mal/internal/db"
 	"mal/templates"
 )
 
@@ -63,9 +64,18 @@ func (h *Handler) HandleWatchPage(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		}
 	}
 
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	for i := range episodes.Data {
-		episodes.Data[i].Images.Jpg.ImageURL = episodes.Data[i].GetFallbackImage(id)
+		if episodes.Data[i].Images == nil {
+			episodes.Data[i].Images = &jikan.EpisodeImages{}
+		}
+		wg.Add(1)
+		go func(idx int) {
+			defer wg.Done()
+			episodes.Data[idx].Images.Jpg.ImageURL = episodes.Data[idx].GetFallbackImage(id)
+		}(i)
 	}
+	wg.Wait()
 
 	sort.Slice(episodes.Data, func(i, j int) bool {
 		return episodes.Data[i].MalID < episodes.Data[j].MalID
diff --git a/integrations/jikan/episodes.go b/integrations/jikan/episodes.go
index a512428..185f727 100644
--- a/integrations/jikan/episodes.go
+++ b/integrations/jikan/episodes.go
@@ -38,15 +38,15 @@ func (e *Episode) GetFallbackImage(animeID int) string {
 	}
 
 	// Always trigger scraping if we encounter the banned icon OR the generic placeholder
-	if imageUrl != bannedImageURL && imageUrl != placeholderImageURL && imageUrl != "" {
-		return imageUrl
-	}
-
-	episodeURL := fmt.Sprintf("https://myanimelist.net/anime/%d/episode/%d", animeID, episodeNum)
-	fallbackURL := scrapeAnimeImageFromEpisodePage(episodeURL, episodeNum)
-	
-	if fallbackURL != "" {
-		return fallbackURL
+	// OR if there is no image URL at all
+	if imageUrl == bannedImageURL || imageUrl == placeholderImageURL || imageUrl == "" {
+		// MAL URLs usually follow this format, and it redirects to the slug version
+		episodeURL := fmt.Sprintf("https://myanimelist.net/anime/%d/_/episode/%d", animeID, episodeNum)
+		fallbackURL := scrapeAnimeImageFromEpisodePage(episodeURL, episodeNum)
+		
+		if fallbackURL != "" {
+			return fallbackURL
+		}
 	}
 
 	return imageUrl
@@ -66,7 +66,9 @@ func scrapeAnimeImageFromEpisodePage(episodeURL string, episodeNum int) string {
 	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
 
+	// Log the status code for debugging
 	if resp.StatusCode != 200 {
+		// fmt.Printf("[DEBUG] Failed to fetch %s: Status %d\n", episodeURL, resp.StatusCode)
 		return ""
 	}
 
@@ -77,11 +79,18 @@ func scrapeAnimeImageFromEpisodePage(episodeURL string, episodeNum int) string {
 
 	html := string(body)
 
-	// Look for the JSON data in MAL.episodeVideo.aroundVideos
+	// MAL sometimes redirects to a URL with a slug. 
+	// The JSON object is very likely to be present in the full page.
 	// We extract the object {} containing "episode_number":X
 	episodeStr := strconv.Itoa(episodeNum)
 	objPattern := regexp.MustCompile(`\{[^{}]*"episode_number":\s*` + episodeStr + `[^{}]*\}`)
 	match := objPattern.FindString(html)
+	if match == "" {
+		// Try a broader search if the strict one fails
+		objPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`\{[^}]*"episode_number":\s*` + episodeStr + `[^}]*\}`)
+		match = objPattern.FindString(html)
+	}
+	
 	if match != "" {
 		thumbRe := regexp.MustCompile(`"thumbnail":\s*"([^"]+)"`)
 		thumbMatch := thumbRe.FindStringSubmatch(match)
diff --git a/integrations/jikan/types.go b/integrations/jikan/types.go
index 63e47de..9249fc1 100644
--- a/integrations/jikan/types.go
+++ b/integrations/jikan/types.go
@@ -166,17 +166,19 @@ type TopAnimeResponse struct {
 	Pagination Pagination `json:"pagination"`
 }
 
+type EpisodeImages struct {
+	Jpg struct {
+		ImageURL string `json:"image_url"`
+	} `json:"jpg"`
+}
+
 type Episode struct {
-	MalID   int    `json:"mal_id"`
-	Title   string `json:"title"`
-	Episode string `json:"episode"`
-	Filler  bool   `json:"filler"`
-	Recap   bool   `json:"recap"`
-	Images  *struct {
-		Jpg struct {
-			ImageURL string `json:"image_url"`
-		} `json:"jpg"`
-	} `json:"images,omitempty"`
+	MalID   int            `json:"mal_id"`
+	Title   string         `json:"title"`
+	Episode string         `json:"episode"`
+	Filler  bool           `json:"filler"`
+	Recap   bool           `json:"recap"`
+	Images  *EpisodeImages `json:"images,omitempty"`
 }
 
 type EpisodesResponse struct {