diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 4ce03b1..d021883 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ Always use `.nothrow()` for commands that may fail non-fatally. Use `.quiet()` t
 - `sandlot merge` and `sandlot squash` both delegate to `mergeAndClose()` in `helpers.ts`, which merges, resolves conflicts, commits, and then calls `closeAction()` to clean up
 - `sandlot list` discovers missing session prompts by parsing Claude's `history.jsonl` from inside the container
 - `sandlot list` shows five status icons: idle (dim `◯`), active (cyan `◎`), dirty/unsaved (yellow `◐`), saved (green `●`), review (magenta `⦿`)
-- `sandlot review` sets `in_review` on the session during the review and clears it in a `finally` block on exit; `list` only shows review status if Claude is also active (self-heals stale flags)
+- `sandlot review` sets `in_review` on the session during the review and clears it in a `finally` block on exit; `list` detects stale `in_review` flags (Claude not active) and clears them from state
 - `sandlot new` and `sandlot open` auto-save changes when Claude exits (disable with `--no-save`)
 - `sandlot close` has a hidden `rm` alias
 - Default behavior (no subcommand): always runs `list` (which prints "No active sessions." if empty)
diff --git a/src/commands/list.ts b/src/commands/list.ts
index a7dda79..a87b647 100644
--- a/src/commands/list.ts
+++ b/src/commands/list.ts
@@ -30,12 +30,11 @@ export async function action(opts: { json?: boolean }) {
     } catch {}
   }
 
-  if (opts.json) {
-    console.log(JSON.stringify(sessions, null, 2))
-    return
-  }
-
   if (sessions.length === 0) {
+    if (opts.json) {
+      console.log("[]")
+      return
+    }
     console.log("◆ No active sessions.")
     if ((await vm.status()) !== "running") {
       console.log(`\n${red}VM is not running.${reset}`)
@@ -48,6 +47,11 @@ export async function action(opts: { json?: boolean }) {
     sessions.map(async (s): Promise<[string, string]> => {
       const active = await vm.isClaudeActive(s.worktree, s.branch)
       if (active && s.in_review) return [s.branch, "review"]
+      // Self-heal: clear stale in_review flag if Claude is not active
+      if (!active && s.in_review) {
+        s.in_review = false
+        await state.setSession(root, s).catch(() => {})
+      }
       if (active) return [s.branch, "active"]
       const dirty = await git.isDirty(s.worktree)
       if (dirty) return [s.branch, "dirty"]
diff --git a/src/commands/review.ts b/src/commands/review.ts
index 9b92623..4600e5d 100644
--- a/src/commands/review.ts
+++ b/src/commands/review.ts
@@ -9,10 +9,6 @@ export async function action(branch: string, extra: string | undefined, opts: {
   const spin = spinner("Starting container", branch)
   await vm.ensure((msg) => { spin.text = msg })
 
-  // Mark session as in review only after container is confirmed running
-  session.in_review = true
-  await state.setSession(root, session)
-
   let prompt = `
 You're a grumpy old senior software engineer. You need to review some code my co-worker wrote.
 
@@ -73,6 +69,10 @@ Your thoughts, in brief.
   if (extra) prompt += "\n\n" + extra
 
   try {
+    // Mark session as in review inside try so finally always clears it
+    session.in_review = true
+    await state.setSession(root, session)
+
     if (opts.print) {
       spin.text = "Running review…"
       const result = await vm.claude(session.worktree, { print: prompt })