diff --git a/applications/application_chain.go b/applications/application_chain.go
index 305ef04..abf944f 100644
--- a/applications/application_chain.go
+++ b/applications/application_chain.go
@@ -40,13 +40,17 @@ func (appchain *ApplicationChain) NewInstance() tapir.Application {
 func (appchain *ApplicationChain) Init(connection tapir.Connection) {
 	appchain.TranscriptApp.Init(connection)
 	for i, app := range appchain.apps {
+		// propagate the transcript to the app
 		app.PropagateTranscript(appchain.transcript)
+		// apply the app to the connection
+		connection.SetApp(app)
+		// initialize the application given the connection
 		app.Init(connection)
+		// if we hit our guard then carry on, otherwise close...
 		if !connection.HasCapability(appchain.capabilities[i]) {
 			connection.Close()
 			return
 		}
-		connection.SetApp(app)
 	}
 }