"Once Upon A Time"

When “Once Upon a Time” premiered its second season Sunday evening, the show didn’t take viewers to Storybrooke or Fairytale Land. Instead fans saw “True Blood” alum Michael Raymond-James walking the streets of New York City. While the show answered a lot of questions (along with throwing some major twists), it left viewers hanging on the identity of the “Mysterious Man.”

“Once Upon A Time” kicked off with the Mysterious Man walking through New York City to get to his apartment, which according to TVLine is located on Grand Street in Little Italy. When he finally arrives at his place of residence, a sudden storm breaks out, forcing the Mysterious Man to go close his window. While attempting to close the window, he has the misfortune of dropping his phone/music player and watching it tumble to its presumed death. Failing to close the window and losing a valuable piece of technology, the Mysterious Man gets one more surprise … a visit from a pigeon. The pigeon drops off a postcard from Storybrooke with one word written on the back – “Broken.”

So, who is this Mysterious Man? Co-creators Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz knew that fans would be in a tizzy after the premiere, and were gracious enough to give TVLine a few hints to put viewers in the right direction.

“We’re very excited about the answer to who he is, and to reveal that sooner rather than later – sometime within the first nine episodes,” Horowitz teased.

For fans who cannot wait for the big revelation, the co-creators explained that they placed clues around Mysterious Man’s apartment.

“We try to be meticulous with the production design, so … yes, there’s stuff in the apartment specific to the character,” said Horowitz. Kitsis added that fans should keep an eye out for one particular clue. “I’m not going to say what it is … that has very significant meaning.”

Judging by some objects in Mysterious Man’s apartment, we’ve come up with three possible suggestions for his identity.

Baelfire

One of the key things to keep in mind about the Mysterious Man is that he somehow ended up in New York City while the rest of the fairytale characters were stuck in Storybrooke. Last time “Once Upon A Time” fans saw Baelfire, Rumplestiltskin’s son, the Blue Fairy had given him a magic bean that would take him and his father to live happily in a land without magic. The pair planted the seed and opened up a portal, but at the last minute Rumplestiltskin chickened out, sending his son into the unknown land alone.

The portal Baelfire went through years ago could have landed him in New York City. If the Mysterious Man is Rumplestiltskin’s son, it would explain the odds and ends around his apartment. Many of the items in the apartment are anachronisms, such as the old desk microphones, the rotary dial phone, the record player and the old radios. Like Mr. Gold in Storybrooke, Mysterious Man could have been collecting things from his past.

Another possible clue hinting towards the Mysterious Man being Baelfire is a sign with a logo for the band NoMeansNo. According to TVLine, NoMeansNo was a progressive punk rock band, and the logo found in the apartment matches an album called “The Day Everything Became Isolated and Destroyed.” TVLine provided an interesting link leading to the track listings of the album. Click here to see what track number four may reveal about the Mysterious Man.

The White Rabbit

Could the Mysterious Man actually be a rabbit in Fairytale Land? Fan boards for “Once Upon A Time” are throwing around a theory that the Mysterious Man is actually the White Rabbit from “Alice In Wonderland.” How did the White Rabbit come up?

Fans of the cartoon versions of “Alice In Wonderland” will remember that the White Rabbit was shown wearing glasses and a pocket watch, which would explain why manacles and pocket watches were hanging up in the apartment.

We also have to keep in mind the sign clearly hanging up in the apartment, “Cleaner & Hatters.” The White Rabbit was a friend of the Mad Hatter, who was afraid of the Queen.

The White Rabbit was always traveling around, which is how he ended up in New York City when the curse was cast. If he is so afraid of the Queen, it’s also why he never went to Storybrooke.

As for the postcard that the Mysterious Man received, it seems that he knew what “Broken” meant. Could the note be from the Mad Hatter/Jefferson (who we learned last season was aware of the curse before the rest of Storybrooke)?

Henry’s Father

Could Emma’s pregnancy all been a set-up? The Mysterious Man may very well be Henry’s “mysterious” birth father. While no clues in the apartment really lead to him being Henry’s father, it’s possible that he is also a fairytale character.

What are your theories on what fairytale character Michael Raymond-James’ “Mysterious Man” is?

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