Well, maybe they do realize that next season will be the final season and then they shouldn’t be bothered with ratings, hence no fanservice. That way, they could afford getting rid of Hook (and Robin and Zelena), bring back Neal, and tell the story they needed to tell from the beginning. May I remind you that Neal and Emma are confirmed to be TL while Hook and Emma are still not confirmed to be TL (if anything they are not TL since if they had been, Zelena’s lips curse would’ve been broken immedietly).
To say nothing of the Dark One Curse. Even going by what Clippystiltskin said, Rumpel still had to shake it off (TLK), but Emma got her first/only gold spot.
I, for one, think/hope this season is the last. But if there is one more, a potential season 2 of GoS would get in the way (even if it is NBC). Not that I even trust Kitsiwitz one bit.