One of the major players in IT: Welcome to Derry is Lilly Bainbridge, played by Clara Stack. In two episodes, Welcome to Derry has established that Lilly has spent some time in the Juniper Hill Asylum before the Welcome to Derry premiere, because of which people look down upon her. Her time in Juniper is tied to a traumatizing event in her life.The tragic event was her father's death before the IT: Welcome to Derry premiere. While it has been described as an "accident," the internet believes that Pennywise was probably behind it so that he can haunt Lilly. The Andy Muschietti IT movies have already established that Pennywise is behind the tragic lives of his prey.What happened to Lilly’s dad in IT: Welcome to Derry? View this post on Instagram Instagram PostClara Stack's Lilly Bainbridge is one of the most tragic characters in the IT lore, as the first episode establishes that she spent some time in the Juniper Hill Asylum. The episode slowly reveals the inciting incident that resulted in Lilly's admittance to Juniper Hill. Her father, who worked in a pickle factory in Willoughby, died tragically. The episode's description of his death is also gruesome.She reveals that she and her mom visited her father in the factory to pick him up on the day of his death. As they were leaving, Lilly realized that she had forgotten her mood ring inside the factory, so her father went inside the factory to pick it up."My mom and I went to pick up my dad. He worked at the jarring plant out on Willoughby. You know, pickles and stuff. We were leaving the factory when I realized I’d forgotten something inside. This... This mood ring I just bought at the five-and-dime. It was just a cheap, stupid toy, but-- but he went back to get it."On his way, her father learns that one of the machines "jammed up," causing him to try and fix it. However, Lilly's father didn’t realize that the power wasn't switched off:"And I don’t know-- I don’t know, one of the machines jammed up. It wasn’t even his station, but-- but my dad... he always wanted to help. They said he climbed into the gears. I guess he thought he’d killed the power, but... when the foreman realized it was on another station, it was too late. If I hadn’t made him go back..."His mutilation is why rumors circulated across Derry that her father's body was inside the pickle jars in the supermarket. This incident, her time in Juniper Hill, Matty's death, and the carnage in the closing minutes of the IT: Welcome to Derry premiere were back-to-back traumatizing incidents in her life. Now, Pennywise's second haunting incident lands Lilly back in Juniper Hill in the last scene of the second episode.Why hasn't Pennywise killed Lilly in Welcome to Derry? View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThere are two different theories as to why Pennywise did not kill Lilly in IT: Welcome to Derry, as of now. One of those theories is a nod to Stephen King lore that's a major part of the IT novel. In the first episode of IT: Welcome to Derry, we see Lilly wearing a turtle toy as a pendant in her hand.This is a nod to Maturin the turtle from the book. For the uninitiated, Maturin is Pennywise's cosmic counterpart who also created the Stephen King "macroverse." In the IT book, we learn that the reason why Pennywise can't kill the losers is because they are cosmically protected by Maturin, which is why the clown can terrify them but not kill them.Thus, many believe that her turtle pendant serves as a protective charm against Pennywise. However, another theory suggests that her mental health problems serve as a convenient cover for Pennywise. He can pin the blame for his current killing cycle on Lill, much like Henry Bowers would eventually be blamed in the 1980s.Two episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry are streaming on HBOMax, with the third one scheduled to release on Sunday, November 9, 2025.