diff --git a/static/player/controls.ts b/static/player/controls.ts
index d228f22..f9e6df6 100644
--- a/static/player/controls.ts
+++ b/static/player/controls.ts
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ export const setupControls = (): void => {
   // mouse move in container shows controls
   state.container.addEventListener('mousemove', showControls);
 
-  // initial sync
-  updatePlayPauseIcons(false);
+  // initial sync — check actual video state since inline script may have started playback
+  updatePlayPauseIcons(!state.video.paused);
   syncVolumeUI();
 };
diff --git a/static/player/main.ts b/static/player/main.ts
index 7f00bd1..aac57ed 100644
--- a/static/player/main.ts
+++ b/static/player/main.ts
@@ -66,9 +66,10 @@ const initPlayer = (): void => {
   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 streamToken = state.modeSources[state.currentMode]?.token;
-  if (streamToken) {
+  if (!state.video.src && streamToken) {
     state.video.src = `${state.streamURL}?mode=${encodeURIComponent(state.currentMode)}&token=${encodeURIComponent(streamToken)}${preferredQuality !== 'best' ? `&quality=${encodeURIComponent(preferredQuality)}` : ''}`;
   }
 
@@ -87,7 +88,7 @@ const initPlayer = (): void => {
   updateAutoSkipButton();
   showControls();
 
-  state.video.addEventListener('loadedmetadata', () => {
+  const onLoadedMetadata = (): void => {
     loading && (loading.style.display = 'none');
     invalidateBounds();
 
@@ -104,11 +105,19 @@ const initPlayer = (): void => {
       state.video.currentTime = state.pendingSeekTime;
       state.pendingSeekTime = null;
     }
-    if (state.shouldAutoPlay) state.video.play().catch(() => {});
+    // autoplay if not already playing (inline script may have already called play())
+    if (state.shouldAutoPlay || state.video.paused) state.video.play().catch(() => {});
 
     updateTimeline(state.video.currentTime);
     updateSkipButton(state.video.currentTime);
-  });
+  };
+
+  state.video.addEventListener('loadedmetadata', onLoadedMetadata);
+  // inline script runs during HTML parsing before initPlayer; if metadata
+  // already loaded, fire the handler immediately
+  if (state.video.readyState >= HTMLMediaElement.HAVE_CURRENT_DATA) {
+    onLoadedMetadata();
+  }
 
   state.video.addEventListener('waiting', () => {
     loading && (loading.style.display = 'flex');
diff --git a/templates/components/video_player.gohtml b/templates/components/video_player.gohtml
index 68c0b5a..7f792e2 100644
--- a/templates/components/video_player.gohtml
+++ b/templates/components/video_player.gohtml
@@ -14,7 +14,27 @@
   class="group relative aspect-video w-full overflow-hidden bg-black">
 
   
-  <video class="h-full w-full cursor-pointer" preload="metadata" playsinline autoplay></video>
+  <video class="h-full w-full cursor-pointer" preload="metadata" playsinline></video>
+  <script>
+  (function() {
+    var p = document.currentScript.closest('[data-video-player]');
+    var v = p.querySelector('video');
+    var sources = JSON.parse(p.getAttribute('data-mode-sources') || '{}');
+    var mode = p.getAttribute('data-initial-mode') || 'dub';
+    var stored = localStorage.getItem('player-audio-mode');
+    if (stored && sources[stored] && sources[stored].token) mode = stored;
+    var src = sources[mode];
+    if (!src || !src.token) {
+      for (var k in sources) {
+        if (sources[k] && sources[k].token) { src = sources[k]; mode = k; break; }
+      }
+    }
+    if (src && src.token) {
+      v.src = '/watch/proxy/stream?mode=' + encodeURIComponent(mode) + '&token=' + encodeURIComponent(src.token);
+      v.play().catch(function() {});
+    }
+  })();
+  </script>
   
   <div data-loading class="absolute inset-0 flex items-center justify-center bg-black/60 hidden z-50">
     <div class="border-accent size-10 animate-spin rounded-full border-4 border-t-transparent"></div>