He could just appear, have a touching goodbye with Henry, talk to his father and try to set him on the right path, and then move on because he’s NOW he’s finished his business. But that’s not what’s happening. Given what we know–it’s a mix of saying goodbye to Henry (and I expect this to be brief and perfunctory); it’ll be a warning, most likely about Hades and the spirits that inhabit the Underworld (and JMo tells us that Neal is not one of them); and, from that, that because Neal is not in the Underworld, he’s at peace, had no unresolved issues, and it’s okay to focus on Hook– thus he can’t be “saved” from the Underworld because he’s not there to begin with. All of which is utter nonsense but it gives the writers free reign for the characters to forget about Neal. That’s cruel
Lots of speculation. I feel like we could easily get a reunion with him and Henry, a warning about the UW and Hades, and not to feel sad because he is at peace. And wouldn’t that be fine? I see no cruelty with that. Unfortunately he’s going to have to move on because he’s just there for the 100th episode. The only cruel part I could see happening is him giving Hook’s blessing or whatever but that hasn’t been confirmed. The writers do plenty of things wrong without us condemning them for something they haven’t done yet.
Is it at all a possibility that the cold open is something that happens in the future? Or something that won’t make sense until the end of the arc. We haven’t really had a flashforward yet. This could be the time to maybe incorporate it. Neal has a scene in the beginning that doesn’t make much sense, but the story comes back full circle and by the end, the scene is revisited in present day. I just think there are a lot of things that could happen that could make it a totally satisfying 100th episode Neal appearance.