If Neal is Bae, then not only would seeing a pic of Rumple in the box convince him that August had connections and knew the truth, but it’d probably also scare him into complying.
Exactly. I just don’t buy the dagger drawing, because August knowing about the dagger isn’t that scary if Neal/Bae has every reason to believe that Papa is still in FTL. It’s a shock but not an immediate threat. Learning that his father is here and that a curse is involved poses a more immediate threat, so it just seems like a much better attention grabber. Especially with all the hinting that Bae won’t be happy to see Rumple.