Shen is a Chinese man who owns a New Moon Antiques shop on Gold Coast. He is known by almost everyone as “Uncle Shen” due to his friendly nature.
Biography[]
Uncle Shen is an antique dealer who owns a New Moon Antiques shop on the Gold Coast and originates from China like Weilan. Weilan and Ondina first meet him in "The Puzzle Box" when they search for a Chinese Puzzle Box they hope to enchant to trap the dragon. After learning they are looking for a puzzle box, Uncle Shen offers them one which Weilan is able to get after a great deal of bargaining.
In "Reversal of Fortune", Weilan encounters Uncle Shen while brooding over her recent plan to defeat the dragon failing and resulting in Evie losing her tail. Noticing how upset she is, Uncle Shen asks Weilan what is bothering her and she tearfully reveals what had happened and that she intends to leave the Gold Coast for good. Uncle Shen offers her comfort stating that if she was trying to help her friends will forgive her. He also reveals that he had a similar situation where he borrowed money from his family so he could start a shop in China. The shop was a total failure and Uncle Shen ended up running away from China in shame. Not wanting to see Weilan make the same mistake he did, Uncle Shen tells her that running away from her problems will not solve them because the problem will follow you. After showing Weilan a painting of a Chinese legend called the Jiao Long Dragon, Uncle Shen tells Weilan that if she decides to leave, she should make sure it is for the right reason and then offers her a snack of prawn crackers to cheer her up.
Following this, Weilan starts making frequent trips to Uncle Shen's shop and he continues to offer her support throughout the season. When the mermaids take notice of a bracelet associated with the Jiao Long Dragon attending book signing of a famous treasure hunter, Weilan meets with Uncle Shen and requests a brief look at the Jiao Long Dragon painting where she notices a mermaids wearing the same bracelet. When Weilan pays Uncle Shen another visit in the season climax, he clarifies a very important detail regarding the legend that proves essential in the final confrontation with the dragon. In the legend, the Jiao Long Dragon was actually a male human who fell in love with a Chinese mermaid and was turned into the dragon by another pod as punishment for letting it happen. The mermaid in the legend then used the bracelet to break the spell and restore his true self. Weilan then concludes that the water dragon is actually Nerissa under the same kind of spell. Her theory is proven correct and Nerissa is freed when Mimmi uses the bracelet. Afterwards, Weilan sneaks into Uncle Shen's shop and secretly helps fix one of his pieces of merchandise that had been giving him trouble to thank him for all the support he has given her.
Personality[]
Uncle Shen is a kindhearted man with lots of wisdom and life experience, and is interested in a lot of folklore and legends. However, he is also highly ambitious, stealing money from his family to start his own shop (although he did feel guilty about it later) and his ambition lead him to act much more antagonistic during his first appearance, where he appears to be a con man passing off completely ordinary items as rare trinkets. Despite his ambition however, he becomes a friend to Weilan and the other mermaids, frequently helping them out with whatever they need and being empathetic enough to tell Weilan to not make the same mistakes he made as he knows she will regret it if she does.
Gallery[]