I don't know. Everything seemed so contrived and almost silly. Here is this guy (Riva, whom I thought may be Reba McIntyre when I didn't hear properly) who looks like a televangelist with his bouffant hair and chiseled visage, who is a master negotiator. The kicker is that he has to carry around three people who form his "chorus." He is mute and deaf and passes thoughts to them. They express his emotions and his wishes to others. He is on his way to a summit to try to solve a centuries old feud between two warring parties. These guys look like refugees from a bad remake of "One Million B. C." Anyway, after he sets his parameters, Riva (with his chorus) and an "away team" are met with murderous intent. Quickly, the members of the chorus are annihilated, as is the assailant. The landing party barely makes it back to the ship. Now its time to pout. Riva, who has never lost a negotiation, takes his ball and is ready to go home. Troi has been the one to connect with him during all this because of her empathic powers. She is designated to do his job. The conclusion is quite non-surprising. The highlight for me is Data explaining to Captain Picard the sign language he learned as a means to communicating with Riva. The episode, however, is so far fetched, I never really got into it.
Review of Loud as a Whisper
