Hadn’t thought of where in the ep the kiss might happen, but you make a good point, bluebutterfly, that it would make sense for it to happen early on, and then show us Hook’s history as he deals with the kiss aftermath in present day.
I wonder if Neal would even have to see it in order to force that self reflection for Hook though? The Hooker in me would rather he just think about it of his own accord. It might also be a bit cliche if Neal just so happens to show up just in time to see it happen. If he doesn’t see it, I wonder who it will be who’ll end up telling him?
As for Rumple, he totally ships SF, and he hates Hook. Even moreso than Neal reacting with, “Oh no, you’re not taking away another woman I love,” I’d expect that from Rumple. He would take Hook out in a flash so his son didn’t have to suffer losing the woman he loves to Hook, just like he did back in the day with Milah. I’m guessing Rumple will still be off on his own little NL journey though, so he probably won’t find out about it any time soon.