diff --git a/scripts/deploy.sh b/scripts/deploy.sh
index 6cdde8d..2e2d2cd 100755
--- a/scripts/deploy.sh
+++ b/scripts/deploy.sh
@@ -46,20 +46,19 @@ sudo_run() {
 }
 
 # run_remote_sudo <ssh-prefix> <password> <cmd...>
-#   Runs `cmd` on the remote host, with the wrapped command preceded
-#   by sudo_run. Used so the rest of the script can stay readable.
+#   Runs `cmd` on the remote host under sudo, piping the password
+#   through `sudo -S -p ''`. We also force PAGER/SYSTEMD_PAGER=cat
+#   inside the sh -c so any systemctl / journalctl call (even if
+#   piped further) doesn't open a pager over the ssh -tt TTY.
 run_remote_sudo() {
   local ssh_prefix="$1"
   local pw="$2"
   shift 2
-  # Build the inner shell command: pipe pw to sudo -S -p '' "cmd".
-  # We pre-marshal the command into a single string the SSH side can
-  # `eval` safely (single-quote the arguments).
   local inner=""
   for a in "$@"; do
     inner+=" '"$(printf %s "$a" | sed "s/'/'\\\\''/g")"'"
   done
-  $ssh_prefix "printf '%s\n' '$pw' | sudo -S -p '' sh -c '$inner'"
+  $ssh_prefix "printf '%s\n' '$pw' | sudo -S -p '' sh -c 'export PAGER=cat SYSTEMD_PAGER=cat; $inner'"
 }
 
 # ponytail: Wipe-and-replace. The deploys are stateful on the VM only via
@@ -82,12 +81,14 @@ install_unit() {
 #   Prints a short status + last 10 journal lines. Uses sudo -S for
 #   journalctl (always root-only) but `systemctl status` works for
 #   the administrator's own services without sudo on most distros.
+#   PAGER/SYSTEMD_PAGER=cat and --output=cat on journalctl defeat
+#   the pager that would otherwise kick in over the ssh -tt TTY.
 status_block() {
   local ssh_prefix="$1"
   local unit="$2"
   local pw="$3"
-  $ssh_prefix "echo '    status:'; systemctl --no-pager --full status $unit 2>/dev/null | head -3"
-  $ssh_prefix "echo '    journal (last 10):'; printf '%s\n' '$pw' | sudo -S -p '' journalctl -u $unit -n 10 --no-pager"
+  $ssh_prefix "echo '    status:'; PAGER=cat SYSTEMD_PAGER=cat systemctl --no-pager --full status $unit 2>/dev/null | head -3"
+  $ssh_prefix "echo '    journal (last 10):'; export PAGER=cat SYSTEMD_PAGER=cat; printf '%s\n' '$pw' | sudo -S -p '' journalctl -u $unit -n 10 --no-pager --output=cat 2>/dev/null | head -20"
 }
 
 # restart_unit <ssh-prefix> <unit> <password>