Baelfire could have suffered similar character assassination had he survived.
Well, with Neal they dont need him alive to actually do that, they seem to retcon many things about Neal with him dead, a quest that was never mention, and that in a way serves to end the questions what was neal job in NY kind of way, meaning, he was not working he was planing to destroy magic,blablabla, or a journal that Hnery now has, one apartment that no oen even questions who is paying for it, i really thought that 512 was the end, the goodbye to Neal that to the fandom a ways of saying he wont return, now just shut up with that, then they had Milah thing, Rumple that wanted to find Neal and never knew about Neal and Emma talk and simply after the Belle thing, simply even forgot his 1st born, Hnery that simply took Emma words without searching for it, withe that i thought wow, he i free not they wont mention him again, but then the whole 522 and 523 mentions, this whole storyline was a retcon of a major, im even scared what they will do this year, what other things they will made up.
I say this, the way they kill Robin, was something they learn from the Neal thing, lets make a thing that will say to fans they wont see him again.