To have Chris escape from the Armitage household, only to have him killed by an a hot button threat to a black man’s life in modern America, would’ve represented a gut punch to end the film on.
However, it could also easily be argued that the darker conclusion hammers home the film’s overarching themes considerably harder than the theatrical version.
There’s a case to be made for both of these endings, and it is hard to genuinely pick out which one is the better finale.
Jordan Peele has already admitted that he went with the happier ending because he wanted the film to be more hopeful in its final moments.