diff --git a/sojorn_app/lib/widgets/kinetic_thread_widget.dart b/sojorn_app/lib/widgets/kinetic_thread_widget.dart
index 458670e..4a1b0d7 100644
--- a/sojorn_app/lib/widgets/kinetic_thread_widget.dart
+++ b/sojorn_app/lib/widgets/kinetic_thread_widget.dart
@@ -497,7 +497,7 @@ class _KineticThreadWidgetState extends ConsumerState<KineticThreadWidget>
 
   Widget _buildPreviousChainJump(ThreadNode parentNode) {
     return Container(
-      margin: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(16, 0, 16, 0),
+      margin: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(16, 4, 16, 0),
       child: GestureDetector(
         onTap: () {
           if (_layerStack.length > 1) {
@@ -512,27 +512,29 @@ class _KineticThreadWidgetState extends ConsumerState<KineticThreadWidget>
               topLeft: Radius.circular(20),
               topRight: Radius.circular(20),
             ),
-            // Gradient from darker top to lighter bottom
+            // Temporary debug background color
+            color: Colors.red.withValues(alpha: 0.1),
+            // More prominent gradient from darker top to lighter bottom
             gradient: LinearGradient(
               begin: Alignment.topCenter,
               end: Alignment.bottomCenter,
               colors: [
-                AppTheme.navyBlue.withValues(alpha: 0.15),  // Darker at top
-                AppTheme.navyBlue.withValues(alpha: 0.08),  // Lighter at bottom
+                AppTheme.navyBlue.withValues(alpha: 0.25),  // Darker at top
+                AppTheme.navyBlue.withValues(alpha: 0.12),  // Lighter at bottom
                 Colors.transparent,                         // Fade to transparent
               ],
-              stops: const [0.0, 0.7, 1.0],
+              stops: const [0.0, 0.6, 1.0],
             ),
-            // Subtle border at the top
+            // More prominent border at the top
             border: Border(
               top: BorderSide(
-                color: AppTheme.brightNavy.withValues(alpha: 0.3),
-                width: 1,
+                color: AppTheme.brightNavy.withValues(alpha: 0.5),
+                width: 2,
               ),
             ),
           ),
           child: Container(
-            padding: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(16, 14, 16, 8),
+            padding: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(16, 16, 16, 12),
             child: Row(
               children: [
                 _buildMiniAvatar(parentNode),
@@ -544,30 +546,31 @@ class _KineticThreadWidgetState extends ConsumerState<KineticThreadWidget>
                       Text(
                         'Previous chain',
                         style: GoogleFonts.inter(
-                          color: AppTheme.textSecondary.withValues(alpha: 0.8),
+                          color: AppTheme.textSecondary.withValues(alpha: 0.9),
                           fontSize: 10,
-                          fontWeight: FontWeight.w600,
-                          letterSpacing: 0.5,
+                          fontWeight: FontWeight.w700,
+                          letterSpacing: 0.6,
                         ),
                       ),
-                      const SizedBox(height: 3),
+                      const SizedBox(height: 4),
                       Text(
                         parentNode.post.author?.displayName ?? 'Anonymous',
                         style: GoogleFonts.inter(
-                          color: AppTheme.navyBlue.withValues(alpha: 0.9),
-                          fontSize: 12,
-                          fontWeight: FontWeight.w600,
+                          color: AppTheme.navyBlue.withValues(alpha: 0.95),
+                          fontSize: 13,
+                          fontWeight: FontWeight.w700,
                         ),
                       ),
-                      const SizedBox(height: 2),
+                      const SizedBox(height: 3),
                       Text(
                         parentNode.post.body,
                         maxLines: 2,
                         overflow: TextOverflow.ellipsis,
                         style: GoogleFonts.inter(
-                          color: AppTheme.navyText.withValues(alpha: 0.75),
+                          color: AppTheme.navyText.withValues(alpha: 0.8),
                           fontSize: 12,
                           height: 1.3,
+                          fontWeight: FontWeight.w500,
                         ),
                       ),
                     ],
@@ -575,15 +578,15 @@ class _KineticThreadWidgetState extends ConsumerState<KineticThreadWidget>
                 ),
                 const SizedBox(width: 8),
                 Container(
-                  padding: const EdgeInsets.all(6),
+                  padding: const EdgeInsets.all(8),
                   decoration: BoxDecoration(
-                    color: AppTheme.brightNavy.withValues(alpha: 0.1),
-                    borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(8),
+                    color: AppTheme.brightNavy.withValues(alpha: 0.15),
+                    borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(10),
                   ),
                   child: Icon(
                     Icons.arrow_upward,
-                    size: 16,
-                    color: AppTheme.brightNavy.withValues(alpha: 0.8),
+                    size: 18,
+                    color: AppTheme.brightNavy,
                   ),
                 ),
               ],