diff --git a/internal_packages/message-list/spec/message-list-spec.cjsx b/internal_packages/message-list/spec/message-list-spec.cjsx
index 1822d64d7..e14936dc9 100644
--- a/internal_packages/message-list/spec/message-list-spec.cjsx
+++ b/internal_packages/message-list/spec/message-list-spec.cjsx
@@ -212,6 +212,7 @@ describe "MessageList", ->
   describe "Populated Message list", ->
     beforeEach ->
       MessageStore._items = testMessages
+      MessageStore._expandItemsToDefault()
       MessageStore.trigger(MessageStore)
       @message_list.setState currentThread: test_thread
 
@@ -220,6 +221,10 @@ describe "MessageList", ->
               MessageItem)
       expect(items.length).toBe 5
 
+    it "renders the correct number of expanded messages", ->
+      msgs = TestUtils.scryRenderedDOMComponentsWithClass(@message_list, "message-item-wrap collapsed")
+      expect(msgs.length).toBe 4
+
     it "aggregates participants across all messages", ->
       expect(@message_list._threadParticipants().length).toBe 4
       expect(@message_list._threadParticipants()[0] instanceof Contact).toBe true
@@ -227,13 +232,7 @@ describe "MessageList", ->
     it "displays lists of participants on the page", ->
       items = TestUtils.scryRenderedComponentsWithType(@message_list,
               MessageParticipants)
-      expect(items.length).toBe 5
-
-    # We no longer do this (for now)
-    # it "displays the thread participants on the page", ->
-    #   items = TestUtils.scryRenderedComponentsWithType(@message_list,
-    #           ParticipantsItem)
-    #   expect(items.length).toBe 1
+      expect(items.length).toBe 1
 
     it "focuses new composers when a draft is added", ->
       spyOn(@message_list, "_focusDraft")
diff --git a/src/flux/stores/message-store.coffee b/src/flux/stores/message-store.coffee
index 0286c2f42..b6b7a97c0 100644
--- a/src/flux/stores/message-store.coffee
+++ b/src/flux/stores/message-store.coffee
@@ -111,10 +111,7 @@ MessageStore = Reflux.createStore
           atom.inbox.getCollection namespace.id, 'messages', {thread_id: @_threadId}
           loaded = false
 
-        # Expand all unread messages, all drafts, and the last message
-        for item, idx in @_items
-          if item.unread or item.draft or idx is @_items.length - 1
-            @_itemsExpanded[item.id] = true
+        @_expandItemsToDefault()
 
         # Check that expanded messages have bodies. We won't mark ourselves
         # as loaded until they're all available. Note that items can be manually
@@ -139,6 +136,12 @@ MessageStore = Reflux.createStore
           @_itemsLoading = false
           @trigger(@)
 
+  # Expand all unread messages, all drafts, and the last message
+  _expandItemsToDefault: ->
+    for item, idx in @_items
+      if item.unread or item.draft or idx is @_items.length - 1
+        @_itemsExpanded[item.id] = true
+
   _fetchMessageIdFromAPI: (id) ->
     return if @_inflight[id]