diff --git a/lib/services/plex_client.dart b/lib/services/plex_client.dart
index c15039826..8263834ca 100644
--- a/lib/services/plex_client.dart
+++ b/lib/services/plex_client.dart
@@ -1922,11 +1922,18 @@ class PlexClient
   /// Get consolidated video playback data in one cache-aware API call.
   /// Request/decode failures throw. Only a valid absent metadata/media/part
   /// shape returns an aggregate without a playable URL.
+  ///
+  /// [forceRefresh] skips the fresh-cache fast path so server-side stream
+  /// changes become observable. Required by pollers (the OpenSubtitles
+  /// download flow watches for a new external stream to appear): without it,
+  /// each successful network fetch re-stamps the shared cache row, so every
+  /// later poll inside the freshness window is served the stale snapshot.
   Future<PlexVideoPlaybackData> getVideoPlaybackData(
     String ratingKey, {
     int mediaIndex = 0,
     String? selectedMediaSourceId,
     String? preferredVersionSignature,
+    bool forceRefresh = false,
   }) async {
     // Fresh-cache-first: the detail screen writes a strict superset of this
     // query shape (includeChapters+includeMarkers+includeOnDeck+checkFiles+
@@ -1936,24 +1943,26 @@ class PlexClient
     // staleness, thin row (getPlaybackExtras' lean fetch overwrites the shared
     // row without includeStreams/checkFiles), or shape failure falls through
     // to the network-first fetch below unchanged.
-    final freshRow = await cache.getIfFresh(
-      ServerId(cacheServerId),
-      '/library/metadata/$ratingKey',
-      maxAge: playbackMetadataCacheFreshness,
-    );
-    if (freshRow != null) {
-      try {
-        final cachedMetadataJson = _validatedPlaybackMetadataJson(freshRow);
-        if (cachedMetadataJson != null && _plexMetadataHasStreamDetail(cachedMetadataJson)) {
-          return parseVideoPlaybackDataFromJson(
-            cachedMetadataJson,
-            mediaIndex: mediaIndex,
-            selectedMediaSourceId: selectedMediaSourceId,
-            preferredVersionSignature: preferredVersionSignature,
-          );
+    if (!forceRefresh) {
+      final freshRow = await cache.getIfFresh(
+        ServerId(cacheServerId),
+        '/library/metadata/$ratingKey',
+        maxAge: playbackMetadataCacheFreshness,
+      );
+      if (freshRow != null) {
+        try {
+          final cachedMetadataJson = _validatedPlaybackMetadataJson(freshRow);
+          if (cachedMetadataJson != null && _plexMetadataHasStreamDetail(cachedMetadataJson)) {
+            return parseVideoPlaybackDataFromJson(
+              cachedMetadataJson,
+              mediaIndex: mediaIndex,
+              selectedMediaSourceId: selectedMediaSourceId,
+              preferredVersionSignature: preferredVersionSignature,
+            );
+          }
+        } on FormatException {
+          // Malformed cached row: the network fetch below overwrites it.
         }
-      } on FormatException {
-        // Malformed cached row: the network fetch below overwrites it.
       }
     }
     final data = await fetchWithCacheFallback<Map<String, dynamic>>(
diff --git a/lib/widgets/video_controls/parts/navigation.dart b/lib/widgets/video_controls/parts/navigation.dart
index 64e85b6cc..fba61bab6 100644
--- a/lib/widgets/video_controls/parts/navigation.dart
+++ b/lib/widgets/video_controls/parts/navigation.dart
@@ -117,7 +117,10 @@ extension _PlexVideoControlsNavigationMethods on _PlexVideoControlsState {
 
         try {
           if (!targetIsCurrent()) return SubtitleDownloadApplyOutcome.superseded;
-          final data = await client.getVideoPlaybackData(ratingKey);
+          // forceRefresh: playback start left a fresh /library/metadata row in
+          // the cache (and each network poll would re-stamp it), so a
+          // cache-eligible read here would never observe the new stream.
+          final data = await client.getVideoPlaybackData(ratingKey, forceRefresh: true);
           if (!targetIsCurrent()) return SubtitleDownloadApplyOutcome.superseded;
           if (data.mediaInfo == null) continue;
 
diff --git a/test/services/plex_playback_data_request_test.dart b/test/services/plex_playback_data_request_test.dart
index 79cc47330..964f145d0 100644
--- a/test/services/plex_playback_data_request_test.dart
+++ b/test/services/plex_playback_data_request_test.dart
@@ -318,6 +318,21 @@ void main() {
       expect(data.mediaInfo?.subtitleTracks.single.id, 401);
     });
 
+    test('forceRefresh bypasses a fresh stream-rich cached row', () async {
+      // The subtitle-download poller relies on this: it must observe the new
+      // external stream appearing server-side while the shared row is fresh.
+      await PlexApiCache.instance.put(cacheScope, endpoint, richPlaybackPayload());
+      final requests = <Uri>[];
+      final client = makeCountingClient(requests);
+      addTearDown(client.close);
+
+      final data = await client.getVideoPlaybackData('42', forceRefresh: true);
+
+      expect(requests, hasLength(1));
+      expect(requests.single.queryParameters['includeStreams'], '1');
+      expect(data.mediaInfo?.subtitleTracks.single.id, 401);
+    });
+
     test('fresh but stream-less cached row still fetches from the network', () async {
       // getPlaybackExtras' lean fetch overwrites the shared row without
       // includeStreams/checkFiles; that shape must never satisfy playback.