We’re now halfway through Andy Muschietti‘s HBO series IT: Welcome to Derry, and things have been brutal so far. From the premiere episode’s shocking ending to some truly nightmarish imagery, the expansion of Stephen King‘s iconic novel is not holding back. No character has had it worse, though, than poor Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack), a young girl who comes into the story already reeling from a tragedy, only to watch friends die right in front of her. It has been unnerving to watch the hell she is put through every week with the entity’s vicious attacks against her mind, but with Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) getting nearer to showing himself, she could also be the one person who is able to defeat the killer clown.

Lilly Bainbridge Is ‘Welcome to Derry’s Most Sympathetic Character

The first impression that viewers have of Lilly is a girl with deep sadness — and that’s understandable, because at school, the other kids stare and talk about her behind her back, or prank her by stuffing pickles into her locker. The show soon reveals why: a year before IT: Welcome to Derry takes place, Lilly’s father died in a horrific accident at the pickle factory where he worked. Lilly blames herself for his passing, since her father, who was off work that day, only went to the factory to pick up a toy she had left behind. His death devastated Lilly, sending her to the Juniper Hill hospital for a spell, but when the series begins, she’s back home and trying to move on with her life.

Early on, Lilly befriends a shy outcast named Matty (Miles Ekhardt), but when he goes missing, she enlists the help of Phil (Jack Molloy Legault) and Teddy (Mikkal Karim Fidler). Their brief investigation ends in the local movie theater with her new friends, as well as Phil’s little sister, Susie (Matilda Legault), being killed right in front of her by the entity, which takes the form of a winged demon baby. At the end of the premiere, Lilly, her face covered in blood, screams her lungs out when she sees that she’s still holding on to Susie’s ripped-off hand.

The hits just keep on coming. Derry Police Chief Bowers (Peter Outerbridge), desperate to pin the deaths on theater employee Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider), threatens to send Lilly back to the hospital if she doesn’t testify that he was involved. This results in Lilly’s blossoming friendship with Ronnie (Amanda Christine), who is Hank’s daughter, becoming fractured. On top of that, Lilly’s best friend Marge (Matilda Lawler) is pulling away because she wants to hang out with the popular girls. Because she hasn’t been through enough hell, apparently, Derry’s terrifying entity has also latched on to Lilly, revealing itself to her at the grocery store as a twisted, octopus-like manifestation of her father (which gets her sent back to Juniper Hill), and then making it appear as though she’s attacked Marge rather than attempting to save her from her own grisly encounter. Rather than being killed, Lilly is made to suffer more in every episode, and it’s becoming unbearable.

Despite Constant Tragedy, Lilly Still Has a Lot of Fight Left in ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’

Lilly’s suffering might be excruciating to watch, but what ultimately makes her so likable is her portrayal by the young Clara Stack. Her performance demands that Lilly be sad, of course, but she also displays an incredible amount of strength. Despite being scared and pushed to the brink, she doesn’t give up when anyone else might have collapsed under a constant onslaught of fear.

When Lilly’s new friends die in the first episode, she picks up where they left off with Ronnie in searching for answers, seeking out Will (Blake Cameron James) and Rich (Arian S. Cartaya) for help and even hatching the plan to take pictures of the entity for physical evidence. In a less intense but equally important moment, Lilly eventually seeks out Ronnie and apologizes for giving false testimony against her dad — even if it was manipulated out of her by Chief Bowers. Rather than giving up and hiding, or getting mad and blaming others, Lilly ultimately takes responsibility in favor of what’s right.

Lilly is the epitome of a good soul, but one with decency at heart. When Marge tries to convince her to hang out with the popular girls, she has no interest in such trivial things, but she’s still happy at the thought of a cute boy being interested in her. Paired with the heartbreaking realization that Marge is setting her up to be publicly pranked once again, the scene that unfolds becomes much worse for Lilly than mere humiliation. When Marge, feeling guilty about betraying her friend, confesses the truth, Lilly doesn’t get mad, but her forgiveness is short-lived as the entity convinces Marge into believing her eyes are bulging out of her head. Lilly desperately tries to give Marge one of her mother’s anti-anxiety pills, but when that is lost, she follows Marge and attempts to stop her from hurting herself before they’re discovered by the other students. It’s unclear what next week’s episode has in store for Lilly in the aftermath of Marge’s gruesome injury, but Lilly’s persistence and desire to protect her friends could actually spell doom for IT: Welcome to Derry‘s most formidable character.

Could Lilly Defeat Pennywise in ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’?

Image via Warner Bros. Television

In Juniper Hill, Lilly only met one adult who truly cared about her, a housekeeper named Ingrid (Madeleine Stowe), who even goes so far as to tell Lilly that she believes what she saw, and encourages her to keep going as she tells her about the power of friends. Lilly would have persevered anyway, but a grown-up believing her gives her added strength. When Will realizes that the entity is feeding on what they fear, Lilly comes up with the idea of taking her mother’s pills the next time they see it. Rather than wanting to run away or pretend that none of this is happening, Lilly’s willingness to take action could make her a formidable opponent for Pennywise.

Lilly Bainbridge is fast becoming the leader of this new group of losers on IT: Welcome to Derry. While each member has their individual strengths, she’s most often at the front, ready to face whatever waits. It’s easy to imagine her leading the way into the sewers, afraid and brave at the same time; pill or no pill, she has the tools she needs to fight the entity when the time comes. Lilly has already been through so much, becoming the most tragic character in King’s IT universe in the process, that there’s not much Pennywise can still do to really hurt her.