diff --git a/apps/ai-game-creator-shell/src-tauri/src/ui_editor/commands/separation/workflow.rs b/apps/ai-game-creator-shell/src-tauri/src/ui_editor/commands/separation/workflow.rs
index 521754270..e6ff0cbfc 100644
--- a/apps/ai-game-creator-shell/src-tauri/src/ui_editor/commands/separation/workflow.rs
+++ b/apps/ai-game-creator-shell/src-tauri/src/ui_editor/commands/separation/workflow.rs
@@ -89,27 +89,6 @@ pub fn apply_batch_patch(
     Ok(())
 }
 
-fn mark_batch_problematic(
-    state: &mut SeparationState,
-    tree_index: usize,
-    batch: &[&SeparationNode],
-    error: String,
-) {
-    app_log!(
-        "ui_separation.batch_problematic tree_index={} nodes={} error={}",
-        tree_index,
-        batch.len(),
-        error
-    );
-    for node in batch {
-        state.problematic_nodes.push(ProblematicNode {
-            node_id: node.id.clone(),
-            problem_description: error.clone(),
-            rework_count: node.rework_count,
-        });
-    }
-}
-
 fn increment_rework_count(node: &mut SeparationNode, id: &NodeId, count: u32) {
     if node.id == *id {
         node.rework_count = count;
@@ -299,17 +278,15 @@ async fn visual_binding(
             let client = client.clone();
             let llm_config = llm_config.clone();
             async move {
-                let request = LlmRunRequest::new(vec![
-                    LlmMessage::user_multimodal(vec![
-                        LlmMessageContentPart::InputText { text: prompt },
-                        LlmMessageContentPart::InputImage {
-                            image_url: source_url,
-                        },
-                        LlmMessageContentPart::InputImage {
-                            image_url: processed_url,
-                        },
-                    ]),
-                ])
+                let request = LlmRunRequest::new(vec![LlmMessage::user_multimodal(vec![
+                    LlmMessageContentPart::InputText { text: prompt },
+                    LlmMessageContentPart::InputImage {
+                        image_url: source_url,
+                    },
+                    LlmMessageContentPart::InputImage {
+                        image_url: processed_url,
+                    },
+                ])])
                 .with_function_tools(vec![tool.clone()])
                 .with_tool_choice(LlmToolChoice::Required);
                 request_ui_editor_llm(&client, &llm_config, request)
@@ -476,10 +453,8 @@ pub(crate) async fn separate_ui_impl(
                         tree_index,
                         batch_index
                     );
-                    mark_batch_problematic(&mut separation, tree_index, &batch, error);
                     write_separation_state(&state_path, &separation)?;
-                    batch_index += 1;
-                    continue;
+                    return Err(error);
                 }
             };
             let processed_url = match raw_image_edit(
@@ -498,10 +473,8 @@ pub(crate) async fn separate_ui_impl(
                         tree_index,
                         batch_index
                     );
-                    mark_batch_problematic(&mut separation, tree_index, &batch, error);
                     write_separation_state(&state_path, &separation)?;
-                    batch_index += 1;
-                    continue;
+                    return Err(error);
                 }
             };
             let processed_path = sidecar.join(format!("processed-{}.png", separation.bound.len()));
@@ -513,10 +486,8 @@ pub(crate) async fn separate_ui_impl(
                     tree_index,
                     batch_index
                 );
-                mark_batch_problematic(&mut separation, tree_index, &batch, error);
                 write_separation_state(&state_path, &separation)?;
-                batch_index += 1;
-                continue;
+                return Err(error);
             }
             let binding = match visual_binding(source_url.clone(), processed_url, &batch).await {
                 Ok(value) => value,
@@ -526,10 +497,8 @@ pub(crate) async fn separate_ui_impl(
                         tree_index,
                         batch_index
                     );
-                    mark_batch_problematic(&mut separation, tree_index, &batch, error);
                     write_separation_state(&state_path, &separation)?;
-                    batch_index += 1;
-                    continue;
+                    return Err(error);
                 }
             };
             app_log!(
@@ -578,10 +547,8 @@ pub(crate) async fn separate_ui_impl(
                     tree_index,
                     batch_index
                 );
-                mark_batch_problematic(&mut separation, tree_index, &batch, error);
                 write_separation_state(&state_path, &separation)?;
-                batch_index += 1;
-                continue;
+                return Err(error);
             }
             apply_batch_patch(&mut separation, tree_index, &binding.decisions, &cut_paths)?;
             write_separation_state(&state_path, &separation)?;