diff --git a/js/accessControl.js b/js/accessControl.js
index 02706d89..7a851bc6 100644
--- a/js/accessControl.js
+++ b/js/accessControl.js
@@ -750,6 +750,7 @@ class AccessControl {
 }
 
 export const accessControl = new AccessControl();
+export default accessControl;
 export {
   AccessControl,
   ADMIN_WHITELIST_MODE_STORAGE_KEY,
diff --git a/js/app.js b/js/app.js
index 2a4906bd..ede0b2eb 100644
--- a/js/app.js
+++ b/js/app.js
@@ -4454,10 +4454,18 @@ class Application {
 
   /**
    * Cleanup resources on unload or modal close.
+   *
+   * When `preserveModals` is true the modal infrastructure is kept alive so the
+   * next playback session can reuse the existing controllers without
+   * reinitializing DOM bindings.
    */
-  async cleanup({ preserveSubscriptions = false, preserveObservers = false } = {}) {
+  async cleanup({
+    preserveSubscriptions = false,
+    preserveObservers = false,
+    preserveModals = false,
+  } = {}) {
     this.log(
-      `[cleanup] Requested (preserveSubscriptions=${preserveSubscriptions}, preserveObservers=${preserveObservers})`
+      `[cleanup] Requested (preserveSubscriptions=${preserveSubscriptions}, preserveObservers=${preserveObservers}, preserveModals=${preserveModals})`
     );
     // Serialise teardown so overlapping calls (e.g. close button spam) don't
     // race each other and clobber a fresh playback setup.
@@ -4472,7 +4480,7 @@ class Application {
 
     const runCleanup = async () => {
       this.log(
-        `[cleanup] Begin (preserveSubscriptions=${preserveSubscriptions}, preserveObservers=${preserveObservers})`
+        `[cleanup] Begin (preserveSubscriptions=${preserveSubscriptions}, preserveObservers=${preserveObservers}, preserveModals=${preserveModals})`
       );
       try {
         this.cancelPendingViewLogging();
@@ -4547,20 +4555,22 @@ class Application {
 
         this.teardownModalCommentSubscription({ resetUi: false });
 
-        if (this.modalManager) {
-          try {
-            this.modalManager.teardown();
-          } catch (error) {
-            devLogger.warn("[cleanup] Modal teardown failed:", error);
+        if (!preserveModals) {
+          if (this.modalManager) {
+            try {
+              this.modalManager.teardown();
+            } catch (error) {
+              devLogger.warn("[cleanup] Modal teardown failed:", error);
+            }
+            this.modalManager = null;
           }
-          this.modalManager = null;
-        }
 
-        if (this.bootstrapper) {
-          try {
-            this.bootstrapper.teardown();
-          } catch (error) {
-            devLogger.warn("[cleanup] Bootstrap teardown failed:", error);
+          if (this.bootstrapper) {
+            try {
+              this.bootstrapper.teardown();
+            } catch (error) {
+              devLogger.warn("[cleanup] Bootstrap teardown failed:", error);
+            }
           }
         }
 
@@ -5211,6 +5221,7 @@ class Application {
       await this.cleanup({
         preserveSubscriptions: true,
         preserveObservers: true,
+        preserveModals: true,
       });
     };
 
diff --git a/js/ui/ModalManager.js b/js/ui/ModalManager.js
index eaad078e..ccc751d6 100644
--- a/js/ui/ModalManager.js
+++ b/js/ui/ModalManager.js
@@ -415,11 +415,58 @@ export default class ModalManager {
         return;
       }
 
-      app.openVideoModal({
-        video: selectedVideo,
-        triggerElement: triggerCandidate || null,
-        source: detail?.source || "modal",
-      });
+      const playbackOptions = {
+        trigger: triggerCandidate || null,
+      };
+
+      const rawUrl =
+        typeof selectedVideo.url === "string" ? selectedVideo.url.trim() : "";
+      if (rawUrl) {
+        playbackOptions.url = rawUrl;
+      }
+
+      const rawMagnet =
+        typeof selectedVideo.magnet === "string"
+          ? selectedVideo.magnet.trim()
+          : "";
+      if (rawMagnet) {
+        playbackOptions.magnet = rawMagnet;
+      }
+
+      const hasPlayById = typeof app.playVideoByEventId === "function";
+      const hasFallbackPlayback =
+        typeof app.playVideoWithFallback === "function";
+
+      const selectedId =
+        typeof selectedVideo.id === "string" ? selectedVideo.id : "";
+
+      if (selectedId && hasPlayById) {
+        Promise.resolve(app.playVideoByEventId(selectedId, playbackOptions)).catch(
+          (error) => {
+            devLogger.error(
+              "[ModalManager] Failed to play selected similar video:",
+              error,
+            );
+          },
+        );
+        return;
+      }
+
+      if (!hasFallbackPlayback) {
+        devLogger.warn(
+          "[ModalManager] Unable to start playback for similar video; no playback handler is available.",
+        );
+        return;
+      }
+
+      Promise.resolve(app.playVideoWithFallback(playbackOptions)).catch(
+        (error) => {
+          devLogger.error(
+            "[ModalManager] Failed to start playback for similar video:",
+            error,
+          );
+        },
+      );
     };
     this.videoModal.addEventListener(
       "similar:select",
diff --git a/js/ui/applicationBootstrap.js b/js/ui/applicationBootstrap.js
index 5970f2c0..cb2db2dd 100644
--- a/js/ui/applicationBootstrap.js
+++ b/js/ui/applicationBootstrap.js
@@ -22,13 +22,13 @@ import { ALLOW_NSFW_CONTENT } from "../config.js";
 import { relayManager } from "../relayManager.js";
 import { userBlocks } from "../userBlocks.js";
 import { subscriptions } from "../subscriptions.js";
-import accessControl from "../accessControl.js";
+import { accessControl } from "../accessControl.js";
 import moderationService from "../services/moderationService.js";
 import ProfileIdentityController from "./profileIdentityController.js";
 import VideoListViewController from "./videoListViewController.js";
 import ProfileModalController from "./profileModalController.js";
 import LoginModalController from "./loginModalController.js";
-import VideoListView from "./views/VideoListView.js";
+import { VideoListView } from "./views/VideoListView.js";
 import MoreMenuController from "./moreMenuController.js";
 import AppChromeController from "./appChromeController.js";
 import { getSidebarLoadingMarkup } from "../sidebarLoading.js";