diff --git a/assets/controllers/comments_mercure_controller.js b/assets/controllers/comments_mercure_controller.js
index 4584944..033f395 100644
--- a/assets/controllers/comments_mercure_controller.js
+++ b/assets/controllers/comments_mercure_controller.js
@@ -5,93 +5,32 @@ export default class extends Controller {
   static targets = ["list", "loading"]
 
   connect() {
-    this._debounceId = null;
-    this._liveRoot   = this._findLiveRoot();
-    this._liveReady  = false;
-    this._queue      = []; // buffer Mercure payloads until live connects
-
-    // 1) Wait for Live to connect (or mark ready if already connected)
-    const live = this._getLiveController();
-    if (live) {
-      this._liveReady = true;
-    } else if (this._liveRoot) {
-      this._onLiveConnect = () => {
-        this._liveReady = true;
-        this._flushQueue();
-      };
-      this._liveRoot.addEventListener('live:connect', this._onLiveConnect, { once: true });
-    }
-
-    // Optional: initial render to paint cached HTML
-    this._renderWhenReady();
+    this._liveRoot = this.element.closest(
+      '[data-controller~="live"]'
+    );
 
-    // 2) Subscribe to Mercure
     const hubUrl = window.MercureHubUrl || document.querySelector('meta[name="mercure-hub"]')?.content;
     if (!hubUrl) return;
 
-    const topic = `/comments/${this.coordinateValue}`;
-    const url   = new URL(hubUrl); url.searchParams.append("topic", topic);
+    const url = new URL(hubUrl);
+    url.searchParams.append('topic', `/comments/${this.coordinateValue}`);
 
-    this.eventSource = new EventSource(url.toString());
-    this.eventSource.onmessage = (event) => {
-      const data = JSON.parse(event.data); // { comments, profiles, ... }
-      const live = this._getLiveController();
-      if (live) {
-        live.set('payload', JSON.stringify(data)); // <- updates the writable LiveProp
-        live.render();             // <- asks server to re-render
-      }
-    };
+    this.es = new EventSource(url.toString());
+    this.es.onmessage = (event) => this._pushToLive(event.data);
   }
 
   disconnect() {
-    if (this.eventSource) try { this.eventSource.close(); } catch {}
-    if (this._debounceId) clearTimeout(this._debounceId);
-    if (this._liveRoot && this._onLiveConnect) {
-      this._liveRoot.removeEventListener('live:connect', this._onLiveConnect);
-    }
-  }
-
-  // ---- private -------------------------------------------------------------
-
-  _findLiveRoot() {
-    return this.element.closest(
-      '[data-controller~="live"],' +
-      '[data-controller~="symfony--ux-live-component--live"]'
-    );
-  }
-
-  _getLiveController() {
-    if (!this._liveRoot) return null;
-    return this.application.getControllerForElementAndIdentifier(this._liveRoot, 'live')
-      || this.application.getControllerForElementAndIdentifier(this._liveRoot, 'symfony--ux-live-component--live');
+    if (this.es) try { this.es.close(); } catch {}
   }
 
-  _renderWhenReady() {
-    // If you also want an initial refresh from server/cache, you can do:
-    const tryRender = () => {
-      const live = this._getLiveController();
-      if (!live || typeof live.render !== 'function') return setTimeout(tryRender, 50);
-      live.render();
-    };
-    tryRender();
-  }
-
-  _flushQueue() {
-    while (this._queue.length) {
-      const data = this._queue.shift();
-      this._ingest(data);
-    }
-  }
+  _pushToLive(jsonString) {
+    if (!this._liveRoot) return;
+    // Find the hidden input bound to the LiveProp
+    const input = this._liveRoot.querySelector('input[type="hidden"][data-model="payloadJson"]');
+    if (!input) return;
 
-  _ingest(payload) {
-    const live = this._getLiveController();
-    if (!live || typeof live.action !== 'function') {
-      // if still not ready, re-buffer and retry soon
-      this._queue.unshift(payload);
-      return setTimeout(() => this._flushQueue(), 50);
-    }
-    // Call your LiveAction; it will mutate props and re-render server-side
-    // NOTE: payload must be a string; if you have an object, pass JSON.stringify(obj)
-    live.action('ingest', { payload });
+    // Set value and dispatch an 'input' event so Live updates & re-renders
+    input.value = jsonString;
+    input.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/Twig/Components/Organisms/Comments.php b/src/Twig/Components/Organisms/Comments.php
index ce58c89..f08491f 100644
--- a/src/Twig/Components/Organisms/Comments.php
+++ b/src/Twig/Components/Organisms/Comments.php
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ final class Comments
 
     // Writable prop the browser can set
     #[LiveProp(writable: true)]
-    public string $payload; // { comments, profiles, ... }
+    public string $payloadJson ; // { comments, profiles, ... }
 
     // Live input
     #[LiveProp(writable: false)]
@@ -60,21 +60,19 @@ final class Comments
     /** Expose a view model to the template; keeps all parsing server-side */
     public function getPayload(): array
     {
-        if (!empty($this->payload)) {
-            $payload = json_decode($this->payload);
-        } else {
-            $payload = $this->redisCacheService->getCommentsPayload($this->current) ?? [
+        $data = $this->payloadJson !== ''
+            ? (json_decode($this->payloadJson, true) ?: [])
+            : $this->redisCacheService->getCommentsPayload($this->current) ?? [
                 'comments'      => [],
                 'profiles'      => [],
                 'zappers'       => [],
                 'zapAmounts'    => [],
                 'commentLinks'  => [],
             ];
-        }
 
         // If your handler doesn’t compute zaps/links yet, reuse your helpers here:
-        $this->list            = $payload['comments'];
-        $this->authorsMetadata = $payload['profiles'] ?? [];
+        $this->list            = $data['comments'];
+        $this->authorsMetadata = $data['profiles'] ?? [];
 
         $this->parseZaps();         // your existing method – fills $zapAmounts & $zappers
         $this->parseNostrLinks();   // your existing method – fills $commentLinks & $processedContent
diff --git a/templates/components/Organisms/Comments.html.twig b/templates/components/Organisms/Comments.html.twig
index 5b72ef2..d236661 100644
--- a/templates/components/Organisms/Comments.html.twig
+++ b/templates/components/Organisms/Comments.html.twig
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
     {{ attributes }}
     data-comments-coordinate="{{ current }}">
 
+    <input type="hidden"
+           data-model="payloadJson"
+           value="{{ payloadJson|default('') }}" />
+
     <div
         class="comments"
         data-controller="comments-mercure"