diff --git a/packages/code-runtime/code-runtime-python/src/index.ts b/packages/code-runtime/code-runtime-python/src/index.ts
index 096a0da2c1..9ac5ffae5a 100644
--- a/packages/code-runtime/code-runtime-python/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/code-runtime/code-runtime-python/src/index.ts
@@ -1402,6 +1402,9 @@ export class PythonCodeRuntime extends CodeRuntime {
         draining = true
         try {
           while (replyQueue.length > 0) {
+            // Needs the run to settle between two queued frames. Measured queue
+            // depths reach 11 without the wall clock landing inside that window.
+            /* v8 ignore next -- see above; not schedulable from a test. */
             if (settled) break
             const payload = replyQueue.shift() as ReplyMessage
             // Encode inside the loop, not up front: a queued reply the run no
diff --git a/packages/code-runtime/code-runtime-python/tests/runtime.spec.ts b/packages/code-runtime/code-runtime-python/tests/runtime.spec.ts
index acb8a61ff3..8f24ff47c5 100644
--- a/packages/code-runtime/code-runtime-python/tests/runtime.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/code-runtime/code-runtime-python/tests/runtime.spec.ts
@@ -3892,6 +3892,7 @@ describe('PythonCodeRuntime — hostile peer', () => {
     expect(result.value).toBe(8 * chunk.length)
   }, 90_000)
 
+
   it('bounds a flood of zero-byte log lines through the per-entry separator charge', async () => {
     // Blank print() lines carry zero content bytes; without the +1 separator
     // charge they would bypass maxLogBytes entirely and grow the retained