Does your friend read comic books or watch anime? I would say it mirrors many of the elements found in that type of entertainment very closely - especially anime that were based on manga such as "Fuushigi Yuugi". It's long, but like most dramas, not much really happens in the grand scheme of things while the characters themselves are the ones mainly reacting to the various events.

Almost any scene with Rand or Lews Therin in it in God Mode (ie: using the Power in some way that noone thought possible before) reminds me of "Dragonball Z", where at a certain point after getting beat up for multiple issues/episodes, the main character starts neutralizing all of the villain's attacks and starts pounding on him, whilst his friends and onlookers are reduced to looking on in amazement and trying to explain how strong he is.