Lost Season Three: "Flashes Before Your Eyes"

Only fools are enslaved by time and space, indeed¹

What I Liked:

• "That Guy Sees The Future, Dude." As much as I loved our adventures on Alcatraz, I missed Hurley
• That was the coolest flashback ever...if it was indeed a flashback at all. There were hints of Donnie Darko and The Wizard of Oz in his "flashback" and Final Destination on the island with Charlie
• The song Charlie was singing in Desmond's past, Oasis' Wonderwall, particularly the part of the song he sang: "Because maybe, You're gonna be the one that saves me..." which makes sense now
• That Charlie is the one destined to die. You have no idea how happy that makes me. he's become such a prick.
  

What I didn't like:

• I forgot how much I disliked Charlie at this point.

What We Learned:

• After he turned the key, Desmond appears to be sent back in the past as he's moving in with Penny with knowledge of the future.
  
• Desmond David Hume - they sure love philosophers
• He used to be a set designer for the Royal Shakespeare Company
• He moved in with Penny and asked Papa Widmore for her hand in marriage and was rejected in the cruelest yet coolest way humanly possible²
• Desmond met Charlie Hieronymus Pace outside Widmore Industries who was a street performer at the time.
• After being told that he can't escape his future, Desmond broke up with Penny and then carried on with the events that led to him ending up at the island.
  

Questions:

• Was that really a flashback?
  
• The creepy jewelry store owner played by Fionnula Flanagan was the creepy old lady in The Others starring Nicole Kidman. Coincidence?
• Who was that old woman? Was she real? Will we see her again?
  
• Are the flashbacks we seeing actually flashbacks or is everyone experiencing the same phenomenon - as in, when we see the characters' flashbacks are they reliving that moment again - but only Desmond is conscious of it now?
• By saving Charlie, what damage is Desmond doing to their reality?
• Does Claire always go for a swim fully dressed?

¹: Check this video out for an explanation
²: If I ever have a daughter and some substandard, by my opinion, askes me for her hand in marriage, I can only hope to remember that speech.