Here's 24: Live Another Day's alternate happy ending for Jack Bauer explained, and why it didn't get used. When viewers were first introduced to Jack Bauer in 24 season 1, he was a happily married family man who just happened to have a very stressful job as a counter-terrorism agent. By the end of the day, he learned his most trusted colleague Nina was a traitor who set him up to die and she also murdered his wife, Teri. This would set up a pattern for Jack throughout later seasons, where no matter how much he sacrificed himself to save the day, his personal life was always left in flames.
His love interests and friends tend to die tragically and he usually ended a typical season on a dark note. 24: Live Another Day was the show's ninth season and saw Kiefer Sutherland push for Jack to die by the end. However, the producers and network behind 24 weren't in favor of his route, and instead, the season ends with Jack handing himself over to Russian authorities to free his best friend - and beloved fan-favorite - Chloe.
24: Live Another Day closed with the image of Jack being taken away via helicopter to an unknown fate, which has yet to be resolved. Like with every prior series, Live Another Day didn't have a solid plan for its ending, and many were debated. There was even one that would have upended the show's tragic formula by giving Jack Bauer a much happier ending. On podcast 20 Years Of 24, writer and executive producer David Fury recalled an ending that saw Jack head back to L.A. to reunite with his daughter Kim.
In 24 season 8, Jack Bauer - who never eats or uses the bathroom - was finally back with his Kim (Elisha Cuthbert) after a lot of messy family drama, but by the time that series ended he was on the run from the U.S. and Russia. This proposed 24: Live Another Day alternate ending presumably would have featured a time jump from the UK to L.A. to find Jack back with Kim, her husband and his grandchildren, giving him a rare cathartic ending. Fury stated on the podcast "That would have been very poignant but it may not have been 24."
Fury also gave a "caveat" to this 24: Live Another Day alternate happy ending by saying after this reunion, it would cut to a car outside and a mystery character cocking a gun. This would signal Sutherland's Jack Bauer - who MUST return for a revival - isn't necessarily in the clear from his past yet, but it still gave more hope than 24: Live Another Day's current finale.