The Mysterious Man’s room, with the “Cleaner and Hatters” sign visible on the back wall, in Episode 2×01 “Broken”
Close-up of the “Cleaner & Hatters” sign
I originally thought that the Mysterious Man was Baelfire, Rumpelstiltskin’s son, because Bae is one of the major characters we are still waiting for, who we know will have to show up at some point.
But then I started thinking more about the odd objects in the Mysterious Man’s room, especially the “Cleaner & Hatters” sign. That certainly seems to suggest the MM has some connection with Jefferson (the Mad Hatter) and/or with Wonderland, and is therefore unlikely to be Bae — unless Bae, for some reason, likes to collect things that could refer to other worlds — or unless Bae does have a connection with Jefferson/Wonderland — or unless the clue itself is a red herring, meant to take us down the wrong path.
What do you think?