diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index e9ff834ad..f5d9278cd 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -938,10 +938,11 @@ engine` (restart required) or
   the provider-neutral `SeasonDownloadCoordinator`. It reserves per-episode
   pending identities synchronously, submits season candidates sequentially and
   best-effort through the existing `DOWNLOADS_START` path, performs one final
-  authoritative refresh after accepted submissions, and reports added,
-  skipped, and failed counts. Xtream and Stalker adapters remain responsible
-  for provider URLs, headers, and metadata; the backend still runs one active
-  transfer with a FIFO queue. `DOWNLOADS_START` remains the sole start IPC; its
+  authoritative refresh after added or stable duplicate submissions, and
+  reports added, skipped, and failed counts. Xtream and Stalker adapters remain
+  responsible for provider URLs, headers, and metadata; the backend still runs
+  one active transfer with a FIFO queue. `DOWNLOADS_START` remains the sole
+  start IPC; its
   stable `reason: 'already-in-progress'` and `reason: 'already-downloaded'`
   results are counted as skipped, and no batch IPC is introduced. The latter
   comes from an asynchronous main-process filesystem recheck before a
diff --git a/docs/architecture/download-manager.md b/docs/architecture/download-manager.md
index 94a3ca3ee..2bcb679d5 100644
--- a/docs/architecture/download-manager.md
+++ b/docs/architecture/download-manager.md
@@ -70,11 +70,12 @@ variants, contextual buttons, and theme-aware styling.
   reservations and submits an individual episode or selected-season snapshot
   through `DownloadsService.startDownload()`. Season batches are sequential
   and best-effort: one candidate failing does not stop later candidates. After
-  accepted submissions, one authoritative list refresh closes the pending-to-
-  queued handoff, and the coordinator returns `added`, `skipped`, and `failed`
-  counts. Xtream and Stalker adapters own provider URL, request header, and
-  metadata preparation; the coordinator owns only provider-neutral
-  orchestration. Both providers use normalized `episode.id` as the canonical
+  added or stable duplicate submissions, one authoritative list refresh closes
+  the pending-to-queued/downloaded handoff, and the coordinator returns
+  `added`, `skipped`, and `failed` counts. Xtream and Stalker adapters own
+  provider URL, request header, and metadata preparation; the coordinator owns
+  only provider-neutral orchestration. Both providers use normalized
+  `episode.id` as the canonical
   episode `xtreamId`; Stalker `originalCmd` and `originalId` participate only
   in URL resolution.
   The exact `(playlistId, contentType, xtreamId)` identity is authoritative.
diff --git a/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/downloads/season-download-coordinator.service.spec.ts b/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/downloads/season-download-coordinator.service.spec.ts
index 90dce914a..5c115c260 100644
--- a/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/downloads/season-download-coordinator.service.spec.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/downloads/season-download-coordinator.service.spec.ts
@@ -183,7 +183,44 @@ describe('SeasonDownloadCoordinator', () => {
 
         expect(restored.prepare).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
         expect(downloadsService.startDownload).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-        expect(downloadsService.loadDownloads).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        expect(downloadsService.loadDownloads).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('refreshes once after a season contains only submitted stable skips', async () => {
+        const first = candidate(FIRST_IDENTITY);
+        const second = candidate(identity(102, 2));
+        const refresh = deferred<void>();
+        const refreshStarted = deferred<void>();
+        downloadsService.startDownload
+            .mockResolvedValueOnce({
+                success: false,
+                reason: 'already-downloaded' as never,
+            })
+            .mockResolvedValueOnce({
+                success: false,
+                reason: 'already-in-progress',
+            });
+        downloadsService.loadDownloads.mockImplementation(() => {
+            refreshStarted.resolve(undefined);
+            return refresh.promise;
+        });
+
+        const submission = coordinator.enqueueSeason([first, second]);
+        await refreshStarted.promise;
+
+        expect(downloadsService.startDownload).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+        expect(downloadsService.loadDownloads).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(coordinator.isPending(first.identity)).toBe(true);
+        expect(coordinator.isPending(second.identity)).toBe(true);
+
+        refresh.resolve(undefined);
+        await expect(submission).resolves.toEqual({
+            added: 0,
+            skipped: 2,
+            failed: 0,
+        });
+        expect(coordinator.isPending(first.identity)).toBe(false);
+        expect(coordinator.isPending(second.identity)).toBe(false);
     });
 
     it('continues after preparation rejects and refreshes once after successes', async () => {
diff --git a/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/downloads/season-download-coordinator.service.ts b/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/downloads/season-download-coordinator.service.ts
index 132be844e..b7c60f4eb 100644
--- a/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/downloads/season-download-coordinator.service.ts
+++ b/libs/portal/shared/data-access/src/lib/downloads/season-download-coordinator.service.ts
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ export class SeasonDownloadCoordinator {
         }
 
         const submission = await this.submit(candidate);
-        if (submission !== EPISODE_DOWNLOAD_SUBMISSIONS.Added) {
+        if (submission === EPISODE_DOWNLOAD_SUBMISSIONS.Failed) {
             this.release(candidate.identity);
             return submission;
         }
@@ -84,22 +84,22 @@ export class SeasonDownloadCoordinator {
             reserved.push(candidate);
         }
 
-        const accepted: EpisodeDownloadIdentity[] = [];
+        const refreshPending: EpisodeDownloadIdentity[] = [];
         for (const candidate of reserved) {
             const submission = await this.submit(candidate);
             result[submission] += 1;
-            if (submission === EPISODE_DOWNLOAD_SUBMISSIONS.Added) {
-                accepted.push(candidate.identity);
+            if (submission !== EPISODE_DOWNLOAD_SUBMISSIONS.Failed) {
+                refreshPending.push(candidate.identity);
             } else {
                 this.release(candidate.identity);
             }
         }
 
-        if (accepted.length > 0) {
+        if (refreshPending.length > 0) {
             try {
                 await this.downloadsService.loadDownloads();
             } finally {
-                this.releaseAll(accepted);
+                this.releaseAll(refreshPending);
             }
         }