Long post ahead about the UU protagonists' writing, more specifically Spoke, so be warned.
For context I've only recently started watching UU, so the only Spoke video I've watched is his latest one, but holy. The guy is... terrifying charismatic. His video hits the ground running with all the lies and manipulation, then 50 minutes later you walk away rooting for this morally bankrupt magnificent bastard. Even more impressive, he pulls this off while lacking the clear redeeming qualities of the other UU protagonists, navigating a character arc centred on much less well-established tropes.
Obviously, all the UU protagonists are heavily flawed characters. That's what makes them interesting. Yet, I will argue that all of them except Spoke also have what I call 'likeability factors' built into their characters that help them remain on the audience's good side even during their worst moments. To elaborate:
Wemmbu is a self-centred mass murderer who would slaughter hundreds without a second thought. But the medium being minecraft, and so-called "death" being a ban, naturally soften the severity of his actions, because let's be honest we're not there to watch random players build dirt huts anyway. In addition, he benefits massively from the Rule of Cool (audience will keep watching and rooting for him just to see impressive stuff), his witty narration, and how he builds genuinely meaningful relationship with many characters. There's a very obvious deeper level to Wemmbu: he can't help but care about the people around him, and that is an extremely endearing quality.
Flamefrags is obssessed with being the 'strongest' on the server, often to the detriment of his interpersonal relationships. That can be frustrating to an audience. However, the obsession also gives Flamefrags a very clear direction for character development. There is no fear that his character will sudden go off the rail and become OOC, because the arc of self-actualisation is built so intrinsically in you basically know where he's going to go. It also allows him to foil a lot of other characters with differnet relationships to the concept of strength, adding narrative interest. Finally, he is by far the biggest benefitter from the Rule of Cool, especially in regards to his reputation and how no sane person will ever dismiss him as a threat. The constant respect makes Flame a very satisfuing POV to watch.
Parrot has a more difficult job retaining sympathy than the other two. As the designated smart-but-weak guy often reduced to screaming at Theo for help, the Rule of Cool does not work in his favour. More importantly, the self-righteousness and hypocrisy Parrot displays are some of the most alienating traits a character can have. Nonetheless, his intelligence sets him apart, and his long, emotionally-charged story with Wifies offers a lot of justification for his less savory qualities. Similarly to Flame, Parrots' obvious flaws give him an obvious direction to improve. Like in his latest episode with Marloww, when the character development finally sets in, it is immensely satisfying.
Finally, we have Spoke, who is quite honestly working with nothing. In his latest episode alone, he displayed all the worst qualities of the other protagonists, and none of the strengths. He is a pathological lier, trying to get Jumper to underestimate the size of an explosion even as both their lives hang on a thread. He is hypocritical, calling out BAT's unfairness as if he hadn't done worse. He hides the spies' netherite armour under the house of players he supposedly cares for, because ultimately the "found family" is about alleviating his own guilt than their safety. He sets up an innocent player to die in his stead, displaying a blatant disregard for others like Wemmbu and Flamefrags, then laughs. No puzzle-solving brilliance or combat skills, just paranoia, lies, and manipulation.
It would be one thing to commit to being a villain. And yet, despite not doing a single likeable thing in the entire 50 minutes runtime of his video, uu!Spoke is successfully presented as sympatheitc. How?
Ultimately, I think it comes down to the rather unique attitude he has towards his enemies in BAT. He can yell and quip all he wants when speaking to them; when he's alone, the narration sounds tired. There is no gloating or celebration when successfully manipulating Jumper; he acknowledges that she represents justice. There is no lashing out at Leow0ok in indignance; he accepts the animosity because he knows he deserves it. Every time a trap works, the music stops and the story moves on. There is a suffocatingly strong sense of guilt that permeates the video, almost as if uu!Spoke himself couldn't bear to elaborate on certain parts as he tells the story. It is an example of an already-complex character executed with beautiful subtlety, and the effects are incredible.