diff --git a/ui/src/App.tsx b/ui/src/App.tsx
index 16fc4c0..9842f9d 100644
--- a/ui/src/App.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/App.tsx
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import { SetupWizard } from './components/SetupWizard'
 import { AddFeatureForm } from './components/AddFeatureForm'
 import { FeatureModal } from './components/FeatureModal'
 import { DebugLogViewer, type TabType } from './components/DebugLogViewer'
-import { AgentThought } from './components/AgentThought'
 import { AgentMissionControl } from './components/AgentMissionControl'
 import { CelebrationOverlay } from './components/CelebrationOverlay'
 import { AssistantFAB } from './components/AssistantFAB'
@@ -390,6 +389,8 @@ function App() {
               total={progress.total}
               percentage={progress.percentage}
               isConnected={wsState.isConnected}
+              logs={wsState.activeAgents.length === 0 ? wsState.logs : undefined}
+              agentStatus={wsState.activeAgents.length === 0 ? wsState.agentStatus : undefined}
             />
 
             {/* Agent Mission Control - shows orchestrator status and active agents in parallel mode */}
@@ -400,13 +401,6 @@ function App() {
               getAgentLogs={wsState.getAgentLogs}
             />
 
-            {/* Agent Thought - shows latest agent narrative (single agent mode) */}
-            {wsState.activeAgents.length === 0 && (
-              <AgentThought
-                logs={wsState.logs}
-                agentStatus={wsState.agentStatus}
-              />
-            )}
 
             {/* Initializing Features State - show when agent is running but no features yet */}
             {features &&
diff --git a/ui/src/components/ProgressDashboard.tsx b/ui/src/components/ProgressDashboard.tsx
index 7b935db..4a1865f 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/ProgressDashboard.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/ProgressDashboard.tsx
@@ -1,12 +1,40 @@
-import { Wifi, WifiOff } from 'lucide-react'
+import { useMemo, useState, useEffect } from 'react'
+import { Wifi, WifiOff, Brain, Sparkles } from 'lucide-react'
 import { Card, CardContent, CardHeader, CardTitle } from '@/components/ui/card'
 import { Badge } from '@/components/ui/badge'
+import type { AgentStatus } from '../lib/types'
 
 interface ProgressDashboardProps {
   passing: number
   total: number
   percentage: number
   isConnected: boolean
+  logs?: Array<{ line: string; timestamp: string }>
+  agentStatus?: AgentStatus
+}
+
+const IDLE_TIMEOUT = 30000
+
+function isAgentThought(line: string): boolean {
+  const trimmed = line.trim()
+  if (/^\[Tool:/.test(trimmed)) return false
+  if (/^\s*Input:\s*\{/.test(trimmed)) return false
+  if (/^\[(Done|Error)\]/.test(trimmed)) return false
+  if (/^Output:/.test(trimmed)) return false
+  if (/^[[{]/.test(trimmed)) return false
+  if (trimmed.length < 10) return false
+  if (/^[A-Za-z]:\\/.test(trimmed)) return false
+  if (/^\/[a-z]/.test(trimmed)) return false
+  return true
+}
+
+function getLatestThought(logs: Array<{ line: string; timestamp: string }>): string | null {
+  for (let i = logs.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+    if (isAgentThought(logs[i].line)) {
+      return logs[i].line.trim()
+    }
+  }
+  return null
 }
 
 export function ProgressDashboard({
@@ -14,67 +42,109 @@ export function ProgressDashboard({
   total,
   percentage,
   isConnected,
+  logs = [],
+  agentStatus,
 }: ProgressDashboardProps) {
+  const thought = useMemo(() => getLatestThought(logs), [logs])
+  const [displayedThought, setDisplayedThought] = useState<string | null>(null)
+  const [textVisible, setTextVisible] = useState(true)
+
+  const lastLogTimestamp = logs.length > 0
+    ? new Date(logs[logs.length - 1].timestamp).getTime()
+    : 0
+
+  const showThought = useMemo(() => {
+    if (!thought) return false
+    if (agentStatus === 'running') return true
+    if (agentStatus === 'paused') {
+      return Date.now() - lastLogTimestamp < IDLE_TIMEOUT
+    }
+    return false
+  }, [thought, agentStatus, lastLogTimestamp])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (thought !== displayedThought && thought) {
+      setTextVisible(false)
+      const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
+        setDisplayedThought(thought)
+        setTextVisible(true)
+      }, 150)
+      return () => clearTimeout(timeout)
+    }
+  }, [thought, displayedThought])
+
+  const isRunning = agentStatus === 'running'
+
   return (
     <Card>
-      <CardHeader className="flex-row items-center justify-between space-y-0 pb-4">
-        <CardTitle className="text-xl uppercase tracking-wide">
-          Progress
-        </CardTitle>
-        <Badge variant={isConnected ? 'default' : 'destructive'} className="gap-1">
-          {isConnected ? (
-            <>
-              <Wifi size={14} />
-              Live
-            </>
-          ) : (
-            <>
-              <WifiOff size={14} />
-              Offline
-            </>
-          )}
-        </Badge>
+      <CardHeader className="flex-row items-center justify-between space-y-0 pb-0">
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-3">
+          <CardTitle className="text-xl uppercase tracking-wide">
+            Progress
+          </CardTitle>
+          <Badge variant={isConnected ? 'default' : 'destructive'} className="gap-1">
+            {isConnected ? (
+              <>
+                <Wifi size={14} />
+                Live
+              </>
+            ) : (
+              <>
+                <WifiOff size={14} />
+                Offline
+              </>
+            )}
+          </Badge>
+        </div>
+        <div className="flex items-baseline gap-1">
+          <span className="font-mono text-lg font-bold text-primary">
+            {passing}
+          </span>
+          <span className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">/</span>
+          <span className="font-mono text-lg font-bold">
+            {total}
+          </span>
+        </div>
       </CardHeader>
 
-      <CardContent>
-        {/* Large Percentage */}
-        <div className="text-center mb-6">
-          <span className="inline-flex items-baseline">
-            <span className="text-6xl font-bold tabular-nums">
-              {percentage.toFixed(1)}
-            </span>
-            <span className="text-3xl font-semibold text-muted-foreground">
-              %
-            </span>
+      <CardContent className="pt-3 pb-3">
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-4">
+          {/* Progress Bar */}
+          <div className="h-2.5 bg-muted rounded-full overflow-hidden flex-1">
+            <div
+              className="h-full bg-primary rounded-full transition-all duration-500 ease-out"
+              style={{ width: `${percentage}%` }}
+            />
+          </div>
+          {/* Percentage */}
+          <span className="text-sm font-bold tabular-nums text-muted-foreground w-12 text-right">
+            {percentage.toFixed(1)}%
           </span>
         </div>
 
-        {/* Progress Bar */}
-        <div className="h-3 bg-muted rounded-full overflow-hidden mb-6">
-          <div
-            className="h-full bg-primary rounded-full transition-all duration-500 ease-out"
-            style={{ width: `${percentage}%` }}
-          />
-        </div>
-
-        {/* Stats */}
-        <div className="flex justify-center gap-8 text-center">
-          <div>
-            <span className="font-mono text-3xl font-bold text-primary">
-              {passing}
-            </span>
-            <span className="block text-sm text-muted-foreground uppercase">
-              Passing
-            </span>
-          </div>
-          <div className="text-4xl text-muted-foreground">/</div>
-          <div>
-            <span className="font-mono text-3xl font-bold">
-              {total}
-            </span>
-            <span className="block text-sm text-muted-foreground uppercase">
-              Total
-            </span>
+        {/* Agent Thought */}
+        <div
+          className={`
+            transition-all duration-300 ease-out overflow-hidden
+            ${showThought && displayedThought ? 'opacity-100 max-h-10 mt-3' : 'opacity-0 max-h-0 mt-0'}
+          `}
+        >
+          <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
+            <div className="relative shrink-0">
+              <Brain size={16} className="text-primary" strokeWidth={2.5} />
+              {isRunning && (
+                <Sparkles size={8} className="absolute -top-1 -right-1 text-yellow-500 animate-pulse" />
+              )}
+            </div>
+            <p
+              className="font-mono text-sm truncate text-muted-foreground transition-all duration-150 ease-out"
+              style={{
+                opacity: textVisible ? 1 : 0,
+                transform: textVisible ? 'translateY(0)' : 'translateY(-4px)',
+              }}
+            >
+              {displayedThought?.replace(/:$/, '')}
+            </p>
           </div>
         </div>
       </CardContent>