diff --git a/helix-core/src/syntax.rs b/helix-core/src/syntax.rs
index 677392b1e..ff547c588 100644
--- a/helix-core/src/syntax.rs
+++ b/helix-core/src/syntax.rs
@@ -723,7 +723,7 @@ impl Syntax {
         let mut layers = self
             .layers
             .iter()
-            .flat_map(|(_, layer)| {
+            .filter_map(|(_, layer)| {
                 // Reuse a cursor from the pool if available.
                 let mut cursor = PARSER.with(|ts_parser| {
                     let highlighter = &mut ts_parser.borrow_mut();