diff --git a/exam b/exam
index d49fd8c..053bfae 100755
--- a/exam
+++ b/exam
@@ -520,6 +520,57 @@ def _log_msg(*args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
     print(*args, **kwargs)
 
 
+# Disruptive tasks (see "breaks": ... in the question bank) corrupt shared control-plane /
+# node state. A session's setup only touches the questions it actually contains, so damage
+# from a task in an earlier session lingers if that task isn't picked again - e.g. Q39 wrecks
+# W1's kubelet config, and a later session with different questions never undoes it. This
+# restores every known "breaks" target to a good baseline before each session seeds, so
+# leftover damage never leaks across sessions regardless of which questions get sampled.
+RESTORE_BASELINE = r"""
+# scheduler: undo the "kube-scheduler" -> "kube-schedulerr" command typo (Q20/Q118)
+nx "$CP" '
+f=/etc/kubernetes/manifests/kube-scheduler.yaml
+sed -i "s|^\( *\)- kube-schedulerr$|\1- kube-scheduler|" $f 2>/dev/null
+' </dev/null
+
+# controller-manager: undo Q38's injected flag and Q118's broken image tag
+nx "$CP" '
+f=/etc/kubernetes/manifests/kube-controller-manager.yaml
+sed -i "/--leader-elect-lease-duration=1s/d" $f 2>/dev/null
+sed -i "s|\(image: registry.k8s.io/kube-controller-manager:v[0-9.]*\)-broken|\1|" $f 2>/dev/null
+' </dev/null
+
+# coredns: restore the default upstream forward (Q37/Q114 point it somewhere bogus)
+cf=$($K -n kube-system get cm coredns -o jsonpath='{.data.Corefile}' 2>/dev/null)
+if [ -n "$cf" ] && ! printf '%s' "$cf" | grep -Eq '^[[:space:]]*forward \. /etc/resolv\.conf'; then
+  printf '%s' "$cf" | sed -E 's|^([[:space:]]*forward \. )[^[:space:]{]+|\1/etc/resolv.conf|' > /tmp/Corefile.restore
+  $K -n kube-system create cm coredns --from-file=Corefile=/tmp/Corefile.restore --dry-run=client -o yaml | $K apply -f - >/dev/null 2>&1
+  $K -n kube-system rollout restart deploy coredns >/dev/null 2>&1
+fi
+
+# w1/w2/w3 kubelet: undo Q17/Q39-style tampering, then make sure it's enabled and running
+for n in "$W1" "$W2" "$W3"; do
+  nx "$n" '
+    [ -f /var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml.orig ] && cp -f /var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml.orig /var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml
+    systemctl enable kubelet >/dev/null 2>&1
+    systemctl start kubelet  >/dev/null 2>&1
+  ' </dev/null
+done
+
+# w1-taint: clear any of the randomized demo taint keys Q25/Q107 might have left behind
+$K taint node "$W1" dedicated- workload- team- >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+# NOTE: etcd/certs/apiserver corruption (hard-mode only: Q102, Q118 apiserver half, Q122,
+# Q123) isn't restored here yet - those are rarer and each needs a more bespoke repair.
+"""
+
+def restore_baseline(log: Callable[..., Any] = _log_msg):
+    log(dim("  resetting control-plane / node state to a clean baseline..."))
+    rc, out = run(RESTORE_BASELINE, timeout=90)
+    if rc != 0:
+        log(yellow(f"  warning: baseline restore had issues (continuing anyway):\n{dim(out[-500:])}"))
+
+
 def seed(qs, log: Callable[..., Any] = _log_msg, params_by_id=None):
     params_by_id = params_by_id or {}
     normal = [q for q in qs if not q.get("disruptive")]
@@ -556,6 +607,7 @@ def begin_session(qs, mode, duration, force, log: Callable[..., Any] = _log_msg,
     rng = random.Random()
     params_by_id = {str(q["id"]): make_params(q, rng) for q in qs}
     setup_contexts(hard, params_by_id)
+    restore_baseline(log)
     log(bold(f"Seeding {len(qs)} scenario(s){' [HARD]' if hard else ''}..."))
     seed(qs, log, params_by_id)
     st = {"mode": mode, "track": TRACK_ID, "hard": hard, "untimed": untimed_session, "ids": [q["id"] for q in qs],