diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/archivers/telethon_archiver.py b/src/auto_archiver/archivers/telethon_archiver.py
index 2fd556b..e0e2bed 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/archivers/telethon_archiver.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/archivers/telethon_archiver.py
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ class TelethonArchiver(Archiver):
             "api_hash": {"default": None, "help": "telegram API_HASH value, go to https://my.telegram.org/apps"},
             # "bot_token": {"default": None, "help": "optional, but allows access to more content such as large videos, talk to @botfather"},
             "session_file": {"default": "secrets/anon", "help": "optional, records the telegram login session for future usage"},
+            "join_channels": {"default": True, "help": "disables the initial setup with channel_invites config, useful if you have a lot and get stuck"},
             "channel_invites": {
                 "default": {},
                 "help": "(JSON string) private channel invite links (format: t.me/joinchat/HASH OR t.me/+HASH) and (optional but important to avoid hanging for minutes on startup) channel id (format: CHANNEL_ID taken from a post url like https://t.me/c/CHANNEL_ID/1), the telegram account will join any new channels on setup",
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ class TelethonArchiver(Archiver):
         logger.info(f"SETUP {self.name} checking login...")
         with self.client.start(): pass
 
-        if len(self.channel_invites):
+        if self.join_channels and len(self.channel_invites):
             logger.info(f"SETUP {self.name} joining channels...")
             with self.client.start():
                 # get currently joined channels
diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/core/metadata.py b/src/auto_archiver/core/metadata.py
index 09587e5..d666843 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/core/metadata.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/core/metadata.py
@@ -21,8 +21,7 @@ class Metadata:
     metadata: Dict[str, Any] = field(default_factory=dict)
     tmp_keys: Set[str] = field(default_factory=set, repr=False, metadata={"exclude": True})  # keys that are not to be saved in DBs
     media: List[Media] = field(default_factory=list)
-    final_media: Media = None  # can be overwritten by formatters
-    rearchivable: bool = True # defaults to true, archivers can overwrite
+    rearchivable: bool = True  # defaults to true, archivers can overwrite
 
     def merge(self: Metadata, right: Metadata, overwrite_left=True) -> Metadata:
         """
@@ -73,7 +72,6 @@ class Metadata:
 
 # custom getter/setters
 
-
     def set_url(self, url: str) -> Metadata:
         assert type(url) is str and len(url) > 0, "invalid URL"
         return self.set("url", url)
@@ -115,30 +113,27 @@ class Metadata:
     def add_media(self, media: Media, id: str = None) -> Metadata:
         # adds a new media, optionally including an id
         if media is None: return
-        if id is not None: media.set("id", id)
+        if id is not None:
+            assert not len([1 for m in self.media if m.get("id") == id]), f"cannot add 2 pieces of media with the same id {id}"
+            media.set("id", id)
         self.media.append(media)
         return media
 
-    def get_media_by_id(self, id: str) -> Media:
+    def get_media_by_id(self, id: str, default=None) -> Media:
         for m in self.media:
             if m.get("id") == id: return m
-        return None
+        return default
 
     def set_final_media(self, final: Media) -> Metadata:
-        if final:
-            if self.final_media:
-                logger.warning(f"overwriting final media value :{self.final_media} with {final}")
-            self.final_media = final
-        return self
+        """final media is a special type of media: if you can show only 1 this is it, it's useful for some DBs like GsheetDb"""
+        self.add_media(final, "_final_media")
 
-    def get_single_media(self) -> Media:
-        # TODO: could be refactored to use a custom media.id or metadata
-        if self.final_media:
-            return self.final_media
-        return self.media[0]
+    def get_final_media(self) -> Media:
+        _default = self.media[0] if len(self.media) else None
+        return self.get_media_by_id("_final_media", _default)
 
     def get_clean_metadata(self) -> Metadata:
         return dict(
             {k: v for k, v in self.metadata.items() if k not in self.tmp_keys},
             **{"processed_at": self._processed_at}
-        )
\ No newline at end of file
+        )
diff --git a/src/auto_archiver/databases/gsheet_db.py b/src/auto_archiver/databases/gsheet_db.py
index 557570e..de1548e 100644
--- a/src/auto_archiver/databases/gsheet_db.py
+++ b/src/auto_archiver/databases/gsheet_db.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ class GsheetsDb(Database):
 
         cell_updates.append((row, 'status', item.status))
 
-        media: Media = item.get_single_media()
+        media: Media = item.get_final_media()
 
         batch_if_valid('archive', "\n".join(media.urls))
         batch_if_valid('date', True, datetime.datetime.utcnow().replace(tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc).isoformat())