Lost - "Catch-22"

So Desmond has a vision of the future and this time he's going to let Charlie die (gruesome!). More importantly, someone is coming, or as Desmond hopes, Penny is coming to rescue him. Meanwhile at the beach, Kate and Sawyer play high school while Jack obliviously hangs with Juliet. It would all be pretty gross, if this week's flashback didn't give us Desmond's first meeting with Penny - love at first sight - and make our hearts go pitter pat.

Highlights:

• Jin's scary story - flash light, spooky voice, missing hand - all in Korean.
• Sawyer: What, do you want me to make you a mix tape?
• Sawyer: What are you talking about? Your favorite other?
• Charlie's death! An arrow through the throat. Yikes.
  
• Charlie and Hurley on who would win a race between Superman and the Flash.
• A mystery solved! (why Desmond always says 'Brother', brother).
• Must remember: Desmond is Scottish, not Irish.
  
• Desmond and Penny have genuine chemistry.
• A copy of Catch-22 in Portuguese.
• A photo of the head monk with the mysterious ring lady (from the last Desmond flash-back(-and-forth)) at the monastery.
• Parachute girl (does she work for Penny? Of course she does!)

Questions:

• So did saving Charlie alter the timeline or not? Was this a test, or another vote in favor of freewill?
• Should parachute girl recover, will she remember enough of her mission to tell us anything useful? Will she confirm that she works for Penny and loyal Penelope has indeed been searching for Desmond all this time.
  
• Also, will she give something away that reveals that time is indeed out-of-synch (e.g., she thinks it is the year 2007, or something).