Well Hook’s loyal to Emma, so totes ok if he has no loyalty to all the men loyal to him, as we saw in SB when he gave Smee the brush off, just before demanding Ol’ Smee risk his life to save Henry on a tugboat to NY. Who cares about rat Smee, right? No one loves him so therefore, he’s free to be killed, transformed, or abused in whatever way, just like Archie really except fans like ARchie so he gets a little plot armor, just you know, not enough to give him a story again. Archie was ONCE a regular, remember that? Now he gets a cameo now and again.
Honestly, with how odd Emma has been, I’d almost prefer the writers bring Neal back and put him with Ruby. Ruby’s true love in the graphic novel was Graham. Emma kissed Graham. Emma once loved Neal. Soaptastic!? Oh gods yes, but here’s the thing, its the best of both worlds. Nothing changes that for original Neal, Emma was it, TRUE LOVE. New Neal though? For all we know, he IS Graham, in some time wimey hijinks (depending on if Jamie can film or not)–and see, what happened is Rumple originally in time iteration 1.5 hide Neal’s reincarnated self back in time and hid him with wolves but with more timey-wimey criss crosses, oh it doesn’t make sense but who cares, we get Neal as Graham and there, done.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass