> Q is an evaluation of how good a state is assuming the agent acts optimally going forward. The Q-value represents the expected utility or the total reward of

> Q is an evaluation of how good a state is assuming the agent acts optimally going forward. The Q-value represents the expected utility or the total reward of taking a certain action in a given state, followed by following an optimal policy thereafter. So, yes, it does evaluate how "good" or beneficial a state is, but specifically in conjunction with a chosen action and under the assumption that the agent will act optimally in the future. So it is conditioned on state and action, not just on state.