diff --git a/src/server/routes/shows.ts b/src/server/routes/shows.ts
index 9e2c415..bb6f914 100644
--- a/src/server/routes/shows.ts
+++ b/src/server/routes/shows.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { Router } from 'express'
 import { db } from '../db/index.js'
 import { searchNyaa, parseEpisodeCode, isBatchRelease, buildRssUrl } from '../services/nyaa.js'
+import { downloadItems } from '../services/scheduler.js'
 import type { Show } from '../types.js'
 
 const router = Router()
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ router.post('/', async (req, res) => {
 
   const showId = result.lastInsertRowid
 
-  // Ingest existing Nyaa feed as pending episodes (fire and forget, don't block response)
+  // Ingest existing feed and auto-download from ep 1 upward (fire and forget)
   ingestExistingEpisodes(Number(showId), search_query, quality, sub_group).catch((err: unknown) =>
     console.error('[shows] Ingest error:', err)
   )
@@ -98,28 +99,27 @@ async function ingestExistingEpisodes(
   try {
     items = await searchNyaa(query)
   } catch (err) {
-    console.error('[shows] Failed to ingest episodes:', err)
+    console.error('[shows] Failed to fetch episodes from Nyaa:', err)
     return
   }
 
-  const insert = db.prepare(`
-    INSERT OR IGNORE INTO episodes
-      (show_id, episode_code, title, torrent_id, torrent_url, status, created_at, updated_at)
-    VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, 'pending', datetime('now'), datetime('now'))
-  `)
+  // Filter batches, then sort oldest episode first so downloads begin from ep 1
+  const filtered = items
+    .filter((item) => !isBatchRelease(item.title))
+    .sort((a, b) => {
+      const na = parseFloat(parseEpisodeCode(a.title))
+      const nb = parseFloat(parseEpisodeCode(b.title))
+      return (isNaN(na) ? Infinity : na) - (isNaN(nb) ? Infinity : nb)
+    })
 
-  db.exec('BEGIN')
-  try {
-    for (const item of items) {
-      if (isBatchRelease(item.title)) continue
-      insert.run(showId, parseEpisodeCode(item.title), item.title, item.torrent_id, item.torrent_url)
-    }
-    db.exec('COMMIT')
-  } catch (err) {
-    db.exec('ROLLBACK')
-    throw err
-  }
-  console.log(`[shows] Ingested ${items.length} episodes for show ${showId}`)
+  console.log(`[shows] Ingesting ${filtered.length} episode(s) for show ${showId} (oldest→newest)`)
+
+  // Look up the show record needed by downloadItems
+  const show = db.prepare('SELECT * FROM shows WHERE id = ?').get(showId) as unknown as Show | undefined
+  if (!show) return
+
+  // downloadItems handles insert + download + status update in order
+  await downloadItems(show, filtered)
 }
 
 export default router
diff --git a/src/server/services/scheduler.ts b/src/server/services/scheduler.ts
index caf5a44..6269619 100644
--- a/src/server/services/scheduler.ts
+++ b/src/server/services/scheduler.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import cron from 'node-cron'
 import { db } from '../db/index.js'
 import { fetchRss, parseEpisodeCode, isBatchRelease } from './nyaa.js'
 import { downloadTorrent, slugify } from './downloader.js'
-import type { Show, Episode } from '../types.js'
+import type { Show, Episode, NyaaItem } from '../types.js'
 
 let currentTask: cron.ScheduledTask | null = null
 
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ async function pollShow(show: Show) {
   const rssUrl = show.rss_url ?? buildRssUrl(show)
   console.log(`[scheduler] Polling "${show.name}" via ${rssUrl}`)
 
-  let items
+  let items: NyaaItem[]
   try {
     items = await fetchRss(rssUrl)
   } catch (err) {
@@ -69,24 +69,34 @@ async function pollShow(show: Show) {
     return
   }
 
+  // Filter out batches and already-tracked items, sort oldest→newest
+  const newItems = items
+    .filter((item) => {
+      if (isBatchRelease(item.title)) return false
+      const existing = db
+        .prepare('SELECT id FROM episodes WHERE show_id = ? AND torrent_id = ?')
+        .get(show.id, item.torrent_id) as Episode | undefined
+      return !existing
+    })
+    .sort((a, b) => episodeNum(parseEpisodeCode(a.title)) - episodeNum(parseEpisodeCode(b.title)))
+
+  if (newItems.length === 0) return
+
+  console.log(`[scheduler] Found ${newItems.length} new episode(s) for "${show.name}"`)
+  await downloadItems(show, newItems)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Shared download pipeline used by both the scheduler and the initial ingest.
+ * Items should already be sorted oldest→newest before calling.
+ */
+export async function downloadItems(show: Show, items: NyaaItem[]) {
   const slug = slugify(show.name)
 
   for (const item of items) {
-    if (isBatchRelease(item.title)) {
-      console.log(`[scheduler] Skipping batch: ${item.title}`)
-      continue
-    }
-
-    // Check if already tracked
-    const existing = db
-      .prepare('SELECT id FROM episodes WHERE show_id = ? AND torrent_id = ?')
-      .get(show.id, item.torrent_id) as Episode | undefined
-
-    if (existing) continue
-
     const episodeCode = parseEpisodeCode(item.title)
 
-    // Insert as pending first
+    // Insert as pending (idempotent)
     const insertResult = db
       .prepare(`
         INSERT OR IGNORE INTO episodes
@@ -99,7 +109,7 @@ async function pollShow(show: Show) {
 
     const epId = insertResult.lastInsertRowid
 
-    // Auto-download
+    // Download the .torrent file
     try {
       console.log(`[scheduler] Downloading torrent for "${item.title}"`)
       await downloadTorrent(item.torrent_url, slug, episodeCode, item.torrent_id)
@@ -115,6 +125,12 @@ async function pollShow(show: Show) {
   }
 }
 
+/** Parse an episode code string to a float for numeric sorting. Unknown → Infinity (goes last). */
+function episodeNum(code: string): number {
+  const n = parseFloat(code)
+  return isNaN(n) ? Infinity : n
+}
+
 function buildRssUrl(show: Show): string {
   const parts = [show.search_query]
   if (show.quality) parts.push(show.quality)